Blend
by xuri
Summary: After the Mew Project ended, Ichigo was left to the life of a normal girl. With all the others gone back to their own lives, she's feeling a little lonely and left behind. But when a new threat appears, Ichigo's all on her own... Now what?
1. Learning to Cope

**xuri: **Hiyas! This is Blend, my very first fanfic, revolving around the Tokyo Mew Mew series. Yay for non-4Kids-slaughterhouse-version. 3 All 26 chapters are complete - however, I will be editting them to the best I can, so there will be a slight delay in between each one. There is also hoard of made up characters to come - If this bothers you, you might want to avoid this fanfiction. HOWEVER - give it a chance, m'kay? I believe I've done a fairly good job of developing them all through the twenty six chapters of Blend, so if you do read it, you will come to know them as well as you know Ichigo and co. I hope. xD

Furthermore, Tokyo Mew Mew does not belong to me. At all. And credits to mentioned made up characters will be given after all chapters are posted.

Now. On with Blend!

**Blend (chapter one)**

**..Learning to Cope..**

"... Oh. That's right."

Sighing, Ichigo shook her head and resumed her walk. When had it become such a habit? It's not like she looked forward to coming here every day. Still, it felt strange to her, almost as if a huge part of her daily routine had suddenly been cut off. The girl hated to admit it, but Cafe Mew Mew had become like her home away from home. It had only been a few days, but she already missed it. Of course, Ichigo knew it wouldn't be even remotely the same - not without the other girls.

"It's pretty quiet around here," Ryou had commented, in a conversation the two had a few days back, "Did everyone finally decide to disown you?"

"Wah! It's not like that!" Ichigo snapped back, fumbling with the broom, "They're just... just..."

"...busy," He finished, a bit wistfully. Ichigo paused, then nodded, and continued to struggle with the gathering dust on the cafe floor. It was silent for a long time. Finally, Ryou spoke up again, glancing off to the side. "There's no real reason for you to still be here."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean!"

"My, aren't we quick to take offense?" Ryou scoffed, "I just meant that I'm not going to ask you to take care of everything on your own. Business hasn't exactly been booming lately, anyways."

The red-haired girl looked over in surprise. "Shirogane? Does that mean -" Her eyes glimmered hopefully, smile widening just at the thought. She didn't notice that Ryou was avoiding her gaze. "- That you're actually letting me have a vacation?"

"Yeah, well," He just shrugged, "You need it. I've noticed that you've been slacking off lately, Strawberry."

"Wha!" Ichigo fumed, clutching at the mop handle angrily, as if planning to use it as a weapon. "Shirogane! You ungrateful little-!"

Ryou calmly stepped towards her, flicking the girl playfully on the forehead. "I was kidding," He said softly, leaving Ichigo speechless, an odd look on her face. Burying his hands in his pockets, the blonde turned away from her and started making his way over to the stairs. "Have a nice break, Ichigo."

"Euuuh!" Shaking her head vigorously, Ichigo stuck her hands in her hair and pulled until her head hurt. "It's not fair! That Shirogane was just looking for an excuse to get rid of me, I know it! He could have at least given me some sort of warning instead of just kicking me out. How inconvienient! Now I need to find another job, and fill out a resume, and go through an interview, and have to completely change my schedule and... Would it have killed him to take the uniform back? It's just going to take up closet space! I don't have closet space! Besides..."

After she finished rambling, her voice trailed off and she looked down at the ground. Okay. Maybe she missed the cafe. Maybe she would miss working there. Maybe. And only a little bit.

But Ichigo knew she wouldn't miss Ryou bossing her around all the time.

Well...

"Ugh! Not that too! Nonono!" Some passing people had turned to glance at Ichigo nervously as she huffed down the street, talking angrily to herself. "Why am I the only one who has to go through all this, anyways?"

Ichigo sighed in frusteration. It really _wasn't_ fair.

Sometimes she thought that Ryou was right - that the other girls had abandoned her on purpose. Of course, Ichigo knew better, deep down, and that it was all just a very bad and untimely coincidence. Lettuce had taken a page from the Book-of-Strawberry and travelled north to study abroad for a few months. She'd sent a few letters and emails, but most of the time Ichigo didn't hear anything. Berii and Tasuku went on a tropical cruise together with their families; Mint had followed Zakuro overseas where the older girl had a high-paying modelling job. And Pudding... Ichigo sweatdropped. Who _knows_ where Pudding went - the main thing was that she wasn't here, either.

"At least Aoyama-kun's still around,"

With a nod, the girl decided that this fact would console her until someone returned. Even though they didn't spend much time together anymore... But Aoyama-kun was busy. He was loaded down with his studies, and Ichigo respected those as a top priority to him. Still...

Her shoulders slouched, and she kept her head up as she walked quietly along, back towards her house.

...Ichigo couldn't help but feel more lonely than before.

**--**

The next morning, Ichigo started off towards school, having left early enough to go by her own pace. It felt kind of strange to be on time, for once. What else had changed?

"Ichigo!"

"Ichigo-chan! Over here!"

Glancing up, she saw two girls hovering over by the school's pathway. One had long, neatly kept brown hair, adorned with two simple blue ribbons; the one standing beside her had shorter red hair, styled so it looked purposely messy. Standing upright, Ichigo put on a smile and made her way over to them.

"Good morning..."

"Neh, Ichigo-chan! You're never here early!" Cherii commented, running a hand through her red hair and smoothing her uniform out at the same time.

"Uh-huh. Usually you're all rushed and show up with a piece of toast still in your mouth. I don't see any toast in your mouth today, though. Are you feeling alright?"

"Uhm, yeah, I'm fine, Roxi."

"You sure?" The brunette stared at her long and hard before shrugging. "Oh well. It's just not like you to be organized like this."

"Eheheh." Smiling nervously, Ichigo sweatdropped visibly. She wasn't always _that _late, was she?

"Come on, Ichigo. Moe and Miwa are waiting for you too. Won't they be surprised to know you're on time today!"

"Wah, you guys! It's not that big of a deal!"

--

Paying attention in class suddenly seemed so much easier. The lectures, though... They were boring as ever. But still, Ichigo noticed that her attention didn't wander nearly as much as it used to. Usually, she had her mind on other things - aliens, the Mew Aqua, Chimera Anima... Even before she became a mew, the girl spent most of her school time daydreaming about Masaya. They were together now, so she didn't have to daydream anymore. It made Ichigo wonder if there was ever a point in her life when things were this normal.

"Ehh, no one is in my Science class this year," Ichigo reminded herself with a sigh as she wandered down the busy hallways, gripping her textbooks. "Boring, boringboring. Well, maybe I can actually try to get good marks for once..."

As she stepped into the Science classroom with a bit of a stifled yawn, she noticed the startling silence inside. This made her stop in her steps. The room was full - she was one of the last to arrive - but no one said a word. At least, an _audible_ word.

While Ichigo wandered through the desks to find a seat, she began to pick up soft whispers from the students she passed by.

"...some sort of car accident. Can you believe it?... I bet he was -"

"...I've never heard of her before, but the principal claims -"

"Maybe this one will be better. You know, assign less homework -"

Ichigo had taken a seat at an empty table, and was about to ask someone what was going on when the class door opened and two adults strode inside. The man, dressed in a ridiculously formal suit, was the principal of Daikan Junior High. Ichigo had never seen the woman before, though. She was tall and very serious looking, with brown hair tied up in a neat bun, and icy blue eyes gazing blankly back at the rest of the class. A hush fell over the students as the door closed behind them. Clearing his throat, the man straightened up and began speaking.

"Good afternoon, students. Please excuse the hold-up. Some of you may or may not know about Mr. Yoshimura's unfortunate accident last week. He is in hospital as of now, and we are all praying for his recovery. Until then, Mrs. Kazuhawa - " a hand motion was made towards the woman, "- will be your new Science professor." He turned to leave, but the brown haired woman glanced over at him expectantly. Pausing, the principal seemed clueless, until he appeared to remember something else. "...Oh. That's right, I apologize..." He hesitated again, looking around for several moments. Giving up after a second or so, he drew his eyebrows together toward Mrs. Kazuhawa. "...Where is she?"

"Ari! Chiyako! _Heeere_!" A voice announced as the door burst open once again, all those in the room turning towards the source. Dark blue hair floated dramatically through the air as the newcomer positioned herself front and center, standing tall with a proud smile. A tad flabbergasted, the man adjusted his glasses before shaking it off and stepping back up. Ichigo could have sworn she saw the new-girl glare at him.

"Oh, yes. Students, this is Chiyako Ari, a transfer student from Kyoto. She will be a member of your class from now on. Please make her feel welcome to Daikan School. I believe that is all." He looked over at Mrs. Kazuhawa for confirmation, who nodded before he left to get back to work.

"Miss Ari," The older woman finally said to the student, who seemed to be enjoying all the eyes on her, "You may take a seat now. Just find an empty table."

"Uh-huh," Ari replied, obviously not paying attention to the teacher's instructions. Instead, she was looking around the room, as if looking for something. Mrs. Kazuhawa simply turned to the blackboard and began jotting notes. The new student continued glancing around without moving. And, after some time, her blackish-blue eyes found and fixed on Ichigo. Ichigo just stared back. There was something sinister about that look, something that made the seated girl suddenly feel cold. They held gazes for only a moment before Ari pulled away, satisfied, and went to find a seat at the other side of the room. As short and meaningless as the encounter had been, Ichigo was left with an eerie feeling. She made an effort to pay attention to the lesson in order to get her mind off it.

--

"Aoyama-kun? Hauu... Please pick up..."

Ichigo was leaned up against the school building after the day's classes had ended, her pink cell phone pressed up to her ear. _Ring. Ring. _She hadn't talked to him for a while, and she was hoping to go for a walk, or even just talk for a little bit. Just like she missed Mint and Lettuce and the others, she missed Masaya too, even if he was still right here nearby. _Riing. _**Click. '**_You've reached the Aoyama household. Please leave a message, and we will --' _Hanging up, Ichigo stowed her phone away with a sigh. He was probably just busy again, or out studying... _Stop being so selfish, Ichigo. Not everyone has the free time that you do._

Maybe that was why she felt so lonely and depressed - she had too much spare time, and no one to spend it with. Most of her friends from school spent their hours at the mall, or with their boyfriends, or even at home studying. Masaya wasn't an option right now, and neither of the other two things really appealed to Ichigo much at the moment. But she knew she had to do something... Even if it was just to take her mind off being alone.

The girl lugged her books along as she wandered through town, crossing streets and passing stores. She did her best to avoid Cafe Mew Mew. After about 15 minutes of waiting aimlessly, she found herself standing at the very entrance of Inohara Park. Ichigo froze.

"Ah... I haven't been here in... a while,"

Looking around cautiously - though she wasn't sure for what - Ichigo stepped further into the park, allowing herself to admire the trees and wild plants. It brought back so many memories, and, because they made her feel warmer and more comforted, she allowed them to flow through her mind. A park bench. A tree branch. Ichigo was sure she could even pinpoint the exact tree Ryou had pushed her out of, before she transformed for the first time. All of this reminded her of the life she had grown so accustomed to, and even taken for granted. And now that it was gone, Ichigo wasn't sure what to do with herself.

She spent a few more minutes just wandering, looking around for nothing in particular. When the sun began to dip down into the sky, she told herself it was time to head back home. Not that there was anything better _there_, but okaa-san would be worried if she stayed out any later._ I'll call her on my way_, Ichigo decided, and began heading off.

"Ichigo."

"Huh?" Ichigo stopped in her tracks. Had she just heard Mint's voice...?

"Ichigo? Ichigo-san, what's wrong?"

"Lettuce?" She whispered back in disbelief, spinning around, searching for the sources of the two voices. There was no one.

"What are you doing, Ichigo-oneechan? Why aren't you fighting, na no da?"

"Hurry up, Ichigo! Stop stalling!"

Ichigo kept turning around, looking over her shoulder, but there was nothing there but trees and grass. "Pudding! Berii! Where are you? I can hear you, but I can't - "

"Ichigo.." Zakuro's cold voice echoed through the air, "You're so weak."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Z-Zakuro..."

"You're giving up, aren't you? I always suspected your power was too great for you..."

"But I don't - "

"You're letting them get away, Ichigo! They're going to hurt us!"

"Mint! Mint, tell me where you are!" Ichigo was shouting now, searching for her friends, whose voices she could hear so clearly. "I can't find you. Tell me where you are! Please!"

"Help us, Ichigo!"

"What are you doing, na no da!"

"Weakling! Get up or die where you stand!"

Ichigo's hands were shaking. What was going on? Why couldn't she see them? Slowly, she began to step backwards. And then, without warning, she bolted off through the trees.

"ICHIGO! Help! Don't let them capture us!"

Pudding's voice whimpered, "Ichigo-oneechan... Why are you abandoning us, na no da?"

"Ichigo, stop!"

"Help, Ichigo! Use your power! I know you can!"

"You aren't worthy. Coward."

"Fight, Ichigo! Fight!" Their voices began to overlap and blend together. No matter how fast Ichigo ran, they just kept getting louder and louder.

"Stop it!" She cried, ducking under a tree branch, tears in her eyes, "Stop it! I'm not a coward... I can fight... I can!"

"Ichigo!"

"STOP!" Ichigo screamed. There was a flash of pink, and she had transformed into Mew Ichigo. She kept sprinting through the park, putting her hands over her ears. It didn't make the voices go away. They kept on getting louder, and louder, booming in her head mercilessly until she couldn't make out a single word any longer. Ichigo was unable to find the exit of the park, and just kept running, running, trying to get away.

"... I thought you cared about us, Ichigo." One voice broke through the others like a bell.

"I do... I do! I care about you all!" She sobbed, her legs burning and her vision beginning to blur. "Please, don't... I..."

"We thought you were our friend."

Her foot caught on a root, sending her keeling to the cold, hard ground. Ichigo blacked out before her head could hit the dirt.

_Next chapter:_

_Something strange is going on. The aliens are gone, and so are the girls - so why does Ichigo suddenly feel so uneasy? Even Ryou doesn't understand the sudden and bizarre occurances Ichigo has witnessed. And what about the strange transfer student...?_


	2. Defining Encounters

**xuri: **Heyyy... anyone. I really have nothing to say, since it seems no one has reviewed, so I have no way of telling if anyone has actually read this. So please review. Keep the flame going, people! x3 If you like what you're seeing, let me know, pleaaasssseeee?

I doesn't own Tokyo Mew Mew. :3

**Blend (chapter two)**

**..Defining Encounters..**

"...chigo? Ichigo?"

She was pulled up from the darkness, slowly, surfacing back to consciousness. At first, Ichigo was relieved - the state of mind where nothing could be felt, seen, or heard was truly frightening. But then memories of the voices began floating back to her, and she felt stiff with terror; had they come back to torment her some more? What were _they_, anyways?

"Ichigo!"

"_No!" _Thrusting her hands out, she tried to push the disembodied voice away. Well, except there was actually a body there - living, breathing - right by her. She squeeked in surprise, her light pink eyes fluttering open. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Sh-shirogane!"

"Yeah, that's me," The blonde said calmly, letting go of her shoulders. Ichigo almost lost her balance and fell back down, but caught herself just in time.

Sitting up straight, she inquired, "Uhm, What are you doing out here?"

"Research," Ryou replied simply, shrugging his shoulders. He glanced over his shoulder with a frown, and then turned back to Ichigo, "What about _you_? I don't seem to recall you coming here that often..."

"Well... uh..." Blinking, Ichigo tried to remember why she had come to Inohara in the first place. No real reason stuck out to her. Then she remembered her cellphone, and how she had called Masaya, and then come here, with no where else to go... "I don't really know, I guess. I just stumbled over this place and decided to wander around..."

Nodding, Ryou seemed to accept that. He was silent for a moment, his aquamarine eyes lingering on the girl. Finally, he spoke up again, "Ichigo, were there aliens out here?"

"What?" Ichigo cried in disbelief. Aliens? They were _gone_, weren't they? What did Ryou mean? "No! What, why? Did you find something out? Did they come back? Are--

"No, no!" Hurriedly, he shook his head, trying to calm the panicked girl down. "There shouldn't _be_ any aliens, Ichigo. I was just wondering..." He leaned forward, grabbing the tip of her cat ear, "...Why you were transformed."

"Kyah!" She knocked his hand away angrily, jumping to her feet as if to kick or slap him for touching her ears _agai- _Wait. _Ears_?

On instinct, her hands flew up to her head, forgetting all about Ryou's little poke. There they were - a pair of large, noticeable cat ears poking up from her head. Ichigo looked down at herself - she was in her pink Mew uniform. She caught sight of her tail from the corner of her eye. Ichigo _had_ transformed. But why? She had been running. Running away from all those voices. And then, poof, she was Mew Ichigo...

_"I can fight... I can!"_

Ichigo had a blank look on her face. No one had been there... So... Who was telling her to fight? They sounded so much like them, like the other Mews...

"Ichigo, what happened?" Ryou asked quietly after standing to his feet as well. In a bit of a daze, Ichigo looked over at him, as if considering whether she should share it or not, and then nodded, staring back at the ground. She explained it as clearly as she could, even though the details seemed fuzzy and rushed to her the whole way through. Just recalling the events, and the things those voices kept saying, made her head hurt. Not understanding these things, even afterwards, just made her feel even worse. Once she was finished, it was completely silent.

"So... You heard the voices of the other girls?"

Ichigo nodded, sniffling a little bit.

Ryou paused, looking up at the sky for a moment. Then, turning back to Ichigo, he narrowed his eyes, "Are you sure you weren't just imagining it? I mean, the girls are - "

"What?" She stared at him in disbelief. How could he not be taking her seriously at a time like this? "_What_? Are you trying to say you think I'm _crazy_? I am _not_ crazy, Shirogane! I really, _really_ heard them!" Ichigo shouted, stomping her foot for emphasis.

"I never said that."

"You were _implying_ it!"

"You _assumed_ that I was implying it. Maybe I wasn't."

"Grr! You're sooo frusterating, Shirogane! Can't you be _serious_ for once?"

Ryou chuckled. "I know you're not crazy, Ichigo," He said simply, a smirk still on his face. It faded after a minute, to show the transformed girl that he at least took some of this seriously. "So... what now? You have no idea who was talking to you or what they were trying to tell you, if anything at all. We know it couldn't have been the girls... And that's it. I don't have any idea where to go from there."

Nodding sadly, Ichigo looked down at the ground. "...I don't know..." She murmured to herself. It had been so scary... She had been so afraid. The voices and the panic were gone now, but... What if they came back? What was Ichigo supposed to do - try to defend her life, or run around until she knocked herself out again?

She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and shivered. Only now did Ichigo notice how dark it was - how long had she been lying there, anyways? - and how cool it had become outside, especially in the forest. Her current outfit wasn't exactly warm, either. The girl wasn't going to say anything, but Ryou noticed almost right away.

"It's getting late. You should be heading home," He nodded, turned, and then added, "I'll walk you to the Cafe, if you want."

Normally, Ichigo might have snapped at him or become suspicious of his courteous behaviour. But right now, she really _did_ want to go back home, even if it meant having to put up with Ryou for a little while. Nodding, the pink-haired cat girl started to walk in his direction, de-transforming as she did so. As much as her brain told her to worry and try to analyze the situation, right now all she wanted to do was go to sleep.

The two wandered out of Inohara Park and back down the street in complete silence. Ichigo was completely distraught, and seemed to fidget uncomfortably as she walked. Ryou, as usual, was impossible to read as he stared blankly ahead. The silence became eerie, even more so in the complete dark, and she didn't want to occupy herself with only her thoughts. They were depressing enough as they were.

"...Shirogane?" Ichigo mumbled quietly, staring down at the ground.

"Yeah?"

"..." She was completely quiet for a little bit, before turning to look up at him. Her cheeks were a light shade of pink, from the cold, or... "Thank you, Shirogane. I probably should have said that earlier..."

"It's not a problem," Ryou shrugged simply, looking down at her only briefly as they continued walking, "I know how girls are with the dark. You'd probably see a tree or something and start screaming about it until your cat ears popped out. I wouldn't be surprised if you fainted again..."

Ichigo nodded slowly. "Yeah..." She blinked, and then frowned at him. "Hey! What is that suppo-"

The blonde haired boy cut her off as he gave her a little pat on the head. "Slow as ever, Ichigo." She instinctively shut her eyes tightly until he pulled his hand away. "Here we are - the cafe."

Opening her eyes again, Ichigo saw that they were indeed stopped infront of the cute, pink building. Even in the dark it seemed to have a happy look, if a bit less noticeable than before. A pang of guilt and sadness suddenly overwhelmed her, so she turned away. _What's with me today? It's just a cafe... It's not like I'll never get to see it again._ Even so, she didn't want to look at it. Not right now.

"Do you want to come in? Have a hot chocolate, or something?"

Snapping out of her mini-funk, Ichigo turned to Ryou. She shook her head a bit drowsily. "No, it's fine... I think I'm just going to go home."

"Alright," Ryou replied, nodding towards her, "Have a good night, Ichigo."

The droopy-headed girl nodded, and turned to start walking down the street. As soon as she got home, she would plop down on her bed, bundle up in her covers, bury her head in her pillow, and fall into a nice, deep sleep... Ichigo sighed dreamily. _Mm. Sleep._

"...Hey, Ichigo?"

"Huhh?" She mumbled in reply, looking back over at Ryou, who was looking directly at her. He paused for a while before lifting his hand and pointing in the opposite direction.

"You're going to wrong way. You _were_ going home, right, Strawberry?"

Ichigo stared at him. It took her a while to process what he was saying. "...Oh. Right." She smiled weakly and turned around, heading off the other way._ I guess I needed sleep even more than I thought..._

**-**-

Instead of fluffy-castle dreams with Masaya in them like Ichigo had wanted, she got nightmares that night. Dark, creepy, foreboding nightmares. They came, one after another, until she sat upright with a jolt, sweat covering her entire body. The worst dream, the one that rang the clearest in her memory, came very last. Mint, Lettuce, Pudding, Zakuro and Berii... All of them were in it. They had come back, but they weren't themselves. Every one of them had turned into a monster, chasing Ichigo and chanting out her name. _Fight, Ichigo... FIGHT! _But she couldn't fight back. She couldn't hurt them... not her friends...

Needless to say, Ichigo was a complete wreck the next day. Cherri and Roxi could barely get a few words out of her, let alone an explanation for her mopey behaviour. But Ichigo knew. Even though she wouldn't say anything, she knew how terrified she was right now. Battling had been one thing - a completely different thing, in fact. Having to battle something you couldn't see, couldn't find, even something you didn't even _know_ whether you were supposed to fight or not - it left Ichigo with a confused, sick feeling in her stomach. Worst of all, she didn't know how to make any of it go away.

_I guess I got my wish_, she thought bitterly to herself, several times throughout the day. It was hard to pay attention again. Her mind kept wandering, making up scenarios and trying to solve them, trying to figure out what was going on. Nothing came to her. For the last block of the day, she had Science - it didn't really matter to her. Ichigo would just get distracted, no matter what the subject happened to be.

"Miss Momomiya," Ichigo looked up to see many faces turned towards her, including Mrs. Kazuhawa, who was currently speaking, "How nice of you to join us. Please take a seat."

It took her a little while she realize she was late for class. Even her sense of time had slipped her by. Shaking it off, she nodded, and quickly stalked off to sit down and open her text and notebooks. For the sake of her grades, Ichigo made something of an effort to pay attention to the notes that Mrs. Kazuhawa was writing down... but her attention began to slip again.

_What does it mean? Will my nightmare come true? Are those voices able to harm me, or are they really just my imagination? Were they trying to get me to transform? Why?_ Thinking that hard made Ichigo's head hurt, so she tried looking back up at the notes. Mrs. Kazuhawa was gone - instead, there were words written neatly across the whiteboard in blue felt, obviously expected to be copied down. Sighing, the girl took out a pen and started scribbling them into her own notebook.

"Neh, Ari-chan! You're so pale..."

"Hm, really?" Picking up a conversation, Ichigo stopped writing and listened. Not that it was any of her business. They weren't whispering or anything, though, so she figured she wasn't really intruding. "I think I've just _always_ been like that... Runs in the family, you know?"

"Not really," Ichigo saw the girl who was speaking give a little shrug, "But, oh well. You must burn really easily, right?"

"No, never, actually."

"Wah! You're sooo lucky, Ari-chan!" Completely forgetting her attempt at keeping low-profile, Ichigo was now staring directly at the two as they continued chatting, without the teacher in the room. One of them she didn't recognize or know; the other one she remembered as the 'new-girl'. She'd never had a chance to speak with her yet. "I'd love a nice tan, but I always get those horrible sun burns. Worst of all, it just fades back to normal after it's all healed!" The girl paused, and then added, "Are all the people from Kyoto like that?"

Ichigo was still tired, and disoriented from all that was going on. "...Kyoto...?" She wondered aloud, without really realizing it.

"Uh-huh, Kyoto. That's where I transferred from," Jumping slightly in her seat, Ichigo looked up to see the blue haired girl standing up, facing her, "That was already explained. Weren't you paying attention?" She put a hand on her hip.

"Er," Ichigo still appeared a bit bewildered that she was suddenly being spoken to, "Well... I thought I was... But maybe... Well, I didn't mean to say - "

"Whatever," Waving it off hurriedly, she sighed, "It doesn't really matter. Even though I'm stunned that you were able to 'doze off' during my entrance, if _that's_ what you were doing..."

She wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Uhm... You're Ari, then, right?" Her voice sounded plainly uncertain. What did this girl expect her to say?

"Yes, that would be me," Ari dignified it with a brief nod, "Chiyako Ari, transfer student from Kyoto. Just in case you forgot already. And, you're Momomiya Ichigo."

"Urm, yeah," She nodded slowly and blinked. How did she already know her name? As far as Ichigo could remember, they'd never been introduced before... _Gah._ Glancing up at her, Ichigo saw her green eyes, specked with gold, staring at her intensely. There was no wry smile on her face, as there had been before, but the leer seemed to pierce right through her mind. It made the hairs on her neck stand upright. Ari paused, and opened her mouth to say something, before Mrs. Kazuhawa stepped back into the room.

"Please go back to your seats," The woman acknowledged coolly, and proceeded to erase the notes to put up new ones. Ichigo flinched.

_Well, so much for better grades..._

--

And, once again, Ichigo managed to accomplish absolutely nothing. Except stress herself out, and possibly be causing a massive headache. By the time she left school, she was completely wiped out, and had a very hard time standing on her own to feet. _Home. Home. I want to go home,_ she kept telling herself, stifling a little bit of a yawn as she walked away from the school yard.

"Heyy, Momomiya!"

_Voice?_ Ichigo started at the sound. The part of her that was at least half-awake reminded her that none of the girls called her 'Momomiya', so it probably wasn't the 'voices' again. Still, she couldn't help but look around in a bit of panic.

The only other person around was the blue haired Ari, who was waving and approaching her. Ichigo sighed in relief.

_Still... strange..._

"Momomiya? Are you in there?" The red haired girl jumped in surprise as Ari suddenly appeared infront of her. Her mind must be wandering more than she realized.

"Eheh... Yeah." Ichigo smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. _Wait... Why is she talking to me?_

"Well, now that we've been introduced, I just thought I might get to know you," Ari ran a hand through her hair, shrugging coolly, and then looked down at the uniform she was wearing. "...These are so plain. Don't you get sick of them?"

"Er..." Sweatdropping, Ichigo shook her head nervously. She had a feeling that the school uniform wasn't the topic on hand right now. "Not... really. You just get used to them after a while,"

"Hm. How disapointing," She replied airily, glancing up at the sky, "Anyways. Want to take a walk and chat, or something? I have a_ ton _of time to spare."

"Oh. Yeah. Sure," Truthfully, the only thing Ichigo wanted to do was go home. Maybe take a nap (cat nap?), or laze around in her pyjamas. But Ari was new to the school, even to this city, and Ichigo decided it would be good to be kind towards her. She was probably just looking for friends. Although, as she looked at Ari now, Ichigo could hardly see her as the type to be desperate for 'friends'.

"Great. Come on, I know some great stores we can stop by on the way, too," With that, she started walking, head up high. It took Ichigo a moment to catch on, and she followed quickly behind. "Sooo, what kind of things do you do in your spare time?"

"Uhm, well, I go shopping, sometimes, but only if I have money... And, I used to have a part time job, but that-"

"Ohh? Really?" Ari seemed to take interest in this right away. Ichigo thought it sounded a little bit forced. "What kind of job?"

"I worked at a Cafe..." Ichigo blinked. No one ever seemed to think her job was interesting, even Moe or Miwa. They just passed it off as something normal and unimportant. After a moment, she added, "As a waitress."

"Wow. What Cafe was it? I think a part time job is just what I need... You never can have too much money." She smiled mischieviosly, smiling walking at a casual pace.

The strawberry-haired girl gave a tiny sigh. It was depressing just to say. "The owner actually closed it down a while ago... but... It was 'Cafe Mew Mew'. It was in this really cute pink building, and the waitresses all got to wear these cute uniforms, with these really adorable shoes, and the cakes were really good..." Ichigo fell silent, feeling as if she could cry. So much had gone on there.

She really _did_ miss it.

"Cafe Mew Mew... Cafe Mew Mew... Hum, that sounds familiar, somehow," The other girl pondered aloud, seemingly oblivious to Ichigo's sorrows, "Umm... Oh! I remember now!" She smacked her fist down into her palm dramatically, causing Ichigo to jump. It looked like a light bulb had gone off in her head. "Those girls that fought those alien things! They were...Mew... Tokyo Mew Mew!"

"Oh... Right. Them," Ichigo said shortly with a shrug. Still, she was a bit surprised - some people here still talked about it, but only a little bit. What were the chances that someone from Kyoto would know about, and still remember, her and the other girls...?

With a broad smile on her face, Ari continued chattering on, even though Ichigo wished she wouldn't. "Tokyo Mew Mew! They were so awesome... I wonder what happened to them? They were all so pretty, and powerful, and had these cute little outfits... Infact..."

Pausing, Ari looked over at Ichigo, a grin lingering on her lips. Ichigo, herself, wasn't paying much attention - half because she didn't want to depress herself over her old life of excitement, and half because she was sure she'd start stuttering on turn red if she tried joining in the conversation. Not that it mattered.

"... One of them looked a lot like you, Momomiya."

"Nehh?" Her eyes widened and she looked up at Ari in shock. Then, realizing how bad that would look for her, she quickly waved it off with a smile. "R-really? Wow, what a coincidence! One of the...urm... Mew Mews, looking just like m-"

"I _knew it_! Heyyy, you don't have to hide it from me! I won't tell a soul, I promise," She grinned, tracing a large 'x' over her heart. Ichigo appeared to want to say something else in retort, but was quickly cut off as the other girls nudged her in the shoulder. "So, what was it like, Momomiya? Why aren't you fighting any more? Who are the other girls? What are they doing? Did the Cafe close down because the aliens aren't here anymore? Are you still fighting crime on the street as a Mew Mew?"

"Um, I never said I -"

"I watched you guys on TV all the time," Ari cut her off quickly. Ichigo was having a hard time here - a sweatdrop appeared on her head. She was barely able to squeeze a word in sideways. "You fought with such style! I doubt the news coverages did you any justice, though... They did focus on a lot of those monsters though. Figures." Giving a little shrug, Ari heaved a sigh, before continuing on in a hurry, "I couldn't help but notice some little glimpses of those... Aliens. I always thought one of them was a little bit cute... What was his name again?" A light blush appeared on Ari's cheeks, and she tilted her head in an effort to hide it. "Ke...Ki...Kis-"

"Kishu?" Ichigo cried in disbelief, forgetting her 'low-profile' plan, "You... think Kishu's _cute_? How could anyone think that _Kishu_-"

"Oh, but don't you agree?" The two stopped walking then, Ari looking over at Ichigo curiously. Even though she was still shocked and a bit disgusted by Ari's claims... Ichigo couldn't help but wonder where they were. She didn't see any stores around. It looked a lot like an alley. Then again... "Hmm. How strange... I really thought you were in _love_ with him, Momomiya."

Ichigo twitched. "WHAT?" She exploded, throwing her arms out. Her face was burning - what was this girl talking about? "What-- how-- Why would you ever think that? Ew! Ew-Ew-Eww! I'm in love with Aoyama-kun! _Aoyama-kun! _Not - no - wah!" Ichigo was practically flailing by now, trying to use every possible phrase to indicate there was no truth to the nonsense Ari was saying. Where would she get an idea like that? More importantly, why would she actually _believe_ it?

While it might seen like an overreaction, the statement seemed to really send Ichigo into a chibi-panic. She was obviously very worked up over it. Only after a few moments of Ichigo-freak-out, she noticed how deadly silent it had become. Ari had acknowledged the statement with a small nod, but was staring intently towards Ichigo, her eyes absent of thought. _She doesn't... believe me?_ Ichigo looked at the girl strangely. Why...?

"Oh! The store I like is just around the corner! Wait here, okay? I'll be right back," Ari suddenly said, and hurried off down the pathway before Ichigo could object. She fell silent, and shrugged to herself. That had been a little bit awkward, anyways. A little time to herself would give Ichigo the space to calm down. No one had _ever _accused her of something like that before... Maybe she was just reading too much into it. Still, was it just her... Or did Ari seem to actually _care_ about her reaction?

After pondering to herself for several long moments, Ichigo noticed that Ari hadn't returned yet. Hadn't she said 'be right back'? It was possible that she was getting carried away with her shopping... Or she was bored with Ichigo and was trying to slip away from her. After waiting a few more minutes, she peered around the corner, and started to walk in the direction that Ari had gone, looking around curiously.

"Wonder where she went..."

As the girl paused to glance around another corner, something grabbed her from behind. Ichigo tried to scream, but a hand closed tightly over her mouth, another arm snaking tightly around her neck with a sai in hand.

"Bye-bye, Momomiya Ichigo," Ari's voice whispered in her ear.

--

_Next Chapter:_

_There's a new threat, and Ichigo has to face her all alone. Even if she's able to barely skim death once, how long can she keep it up? She's still a Mew, but her powers can only do so much... And with all the other girls scattered throughout the world, what options does this leave her?_


	3. Survive

**xuri: **T-T I love you guys! Thank you for reviewing. You have no idea how much that means to me. _sniff._ Anyone else who's reading this, too. Leave me a comment! Even if its 'what a lame fic' or ' cool', or something. It's all so appreciated! _So _appreciated that chapter three is up early. See? You can change the worlllldddd! And now that I have reviews, I can respoonnnnddd!

_SamKo: -hugs- _My first reviewer! You are worshipped! xD Thanks so much. And I have a feeling I didn't do the plot much justice in the description or something... I have a thing about spoiling stuff. I dunno.

_Kamyra:_ Cool, people from there go here too. _-nod nod- _Now I know. x3 It kind of _was_ hard to follow there, since every chapter took up sooo many posts... Well, I'm glad to know I have a reader. :3 Thanks bunches!

_BridgitKiido:_ You'd actually be kind of surprised about those forums. Yeah, there are a lot of 'ZOMG I'M A MEW MEW' and 'ZOEY IS BUTIFEL' kind of topics, but there are also several sane and faithful TMM fans that roam there, too. You just have to look. xD Big thanks to you too.

I think you get the picture by now, but I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. I do own Ari though. So ha.

Review, and chapter four will be up quicckkeerrr:D

---

**Blend (chapter three)**

**..Survive..**

_"Bye-bye, Momomiya Ichigo,"_

She froze up on the spot. Nothing moved. Ichigo's eyes were wide, her body stiff with terror. She couldn't pull her gaze away from the pale arm wrapped around her neck, clutching a dangerous weapon, one that she had seen many times before in the hands of a certain alien. But this wasn't Kishu. No, this was someone - something? - far different and unexpected.

_Ari!..._

Her cat reflexes tuned in within a second. Letting out a muffled yelp, she bent her left leg in and then kicked her captor's shin with as much force as possible. Their grip around her flinched, just enough so she could shove her way free, gasping for air. Without so much as a word, or even a glance behind, Ichigo bolted.

"Nehh, Ichigo-neko!" Ichigo's heart caught in her throat. That voice... It really _was_ Ari's, wasn't it? But why would Ari be trying to harm her? What had she done? Did this mean that Ari was an - "Running away instead of fighting back? Just like before. Foolish girl - I'll just have to catch you!"

Ichigo kept running. But she wasn't gaining any distance on the voice trailing behind her - every word was clear as the one before. She sharply turned a corner, and sprinted down the alleyway. Why was she being chased? "Help," She choked, weakly, as she ran as fast as she could. There was no one around. Where was she, anyways? Ichigo couldn't see a single building. Only brick walls whirling past. "Help-!" Her foot caught on the edge of a garbage can, and she nearly fell over. Luckily, the girl was able to catch her balance and stumble back to her feet, but she found she was unable to start running again. All she could do was stand there, bent over, panting furiously for breath.

"That wasn't much of a chase, if you ask me. Oh, well. This is the part that gets _interesting_,"

Her head snapped up to see a blurry figure approaching. Once her vision focused, she gasped, stepping backwards and nearly falling again._ Ari_. Ari was stepping towards her, slowly, a long bronze weapon clutched in each hand. A smirk lay simply on her pale face - _she was enjoying this_. Ichigo just stared in horror as the distance between the two slowly began to close, becoming smaller with every step.

_Alien_. Ari's once dark-blue eyes were now a deep, gold colour, her pupils a more sinister shape. From beneath her mat of navy blue hair poked out two long, pointed ears. She was clad in a dark-tan tank top and a short, simple black skirt; her ankle-high boots had similar coloured ribbons flowing from them, and her gloves bunched up heavily just at the wrists.

"W-Why are you-"

"Weakling," Ari hissed, grinning tauntingly, "Is running away really all you can do, Ichigo-neko? How disapointing. How was Kishu-sama ever defeated by _you_?"

"Eh?" Ichigo's eyes widened. _Kishu-sama_.. Did that mean Ari _knew _Kishu? What did she mean? More importantly... _why was she attacking her_?

They had made peace with Kishu and the other aliens. Ari was an alien, wasn't she? This didn't make any sense...

"It was fun, but I think it's time for me to end this conversation. Permanently!" Ichigo snapped back into reality just as the blue haired alien had started a direct charge towards her, sais in hand. Her mind started racing, but she stood her ground. _Think clearly, think clearly... You can't panic, Ichigo!_

"You're not even going to fight back, are you!" Ari yelled as she dove towards the other girl, about to take a slash. In an instant, Ichigo bounded into the air, bouncing her feet off of Ari's back to knock her to the ground temporarily. "_Tsu_!" Breathless, she landed behind the fallen alien, not wasting another moment.

"Mew Mew Strawberry! _Metamorpha-sis_!"

In a flash of bright pink, a now-transformed Mew Ichigo stood there, striking her normal pose. There was a sense of familiarity in the air - memories of the times after times she had been in this situation came running back to her. All those times, she had been surrounded by people she cared about. Her friends. And even though she was now alone, Ichigo couldn't hold back the ghost of a smile that put itself on her lips. _This was my life._

Unfortunatetly, Ari was unphased by Ichigo's 'jump' on her, and now stood up straight, ready to fight back. She paused, however, amusement glimmering in her eyes. "Ah, you've decided to join in the fun, Ichigo-neko! I'm glad."

Frowning, Ichigo said nothing, and stood perfectly still. Then, with an instinctive '_nya_', she shot forward towards the alien-girl, keeping a clear focus. Ari wasted no time with racing in her direction as well.

Just as the two were right about to collide, Ichigo sidestepped and bounded out of the way. "Strawberry Bell!" She shouted, her heart shaped weapon appearing in her hands instantly. The girl wasn't even able to muster an attack, however, as a sharp dagger brushed dangerously close past her arm.

"How cute!" Ari taunted with a laugh, taking another swing at her. Ichigo moved to deflect it with her bell. "You seem more fit for a cosplayer than a warrior, though. But I _love_ your boots - who designed them?"

"You're _kidding_!" Ichigo grunted, ducking under another attack. This was taking all of her energy, just to keep from getting hit. Ari, however, was moving so easily that she could be _inquiring about her boots _without even breaking a sweat. As she blocked another missed-hit with her bell, Ichigo knew this wasn't going to work.

"Haah!" Cried Ari in triumph as her dagger weapon snagged onto her arm-puff, tearing a small piece of fabric away. "Not so quick on the feet anymore, hm, Ichigo-neko?"

"Stop it!" Swerving to the side, she delivered a swift kick to Ari's ankle, briefly causing the other girl to flinch. Taking advantage of the moment, Ichigo ran several yards back before stopping and turning to face her attacker, clutching her Strawberry Bell in both hands. Having recovered very quickly, Ari was now gliding at an incredible speed in Ichigo's direction, ready for a head on attack.

"Ribbon Strawberry Check!" Swinging her bell out infront of her, Ichigo shouted out her attack. Upon command, a pink light burst from the weapon, waving directly over Ari.

She was slowing down. Significantly. "_What_-?" As Ari became enveloped in the warm, pink light, she felt a sudden and considerable amount of pain. It was if her energy was being sapped, pulled from her like knotted string. It also became harder and harder to breath, until it was at the point where the alien was sure she would suffocate from the pressure. She hadn't expected this kind of power. She hadn't expected this kind of pain. Then, just as quickly, the light faded, and Ari fell to her knees, panting.

Ichigo was equally as tired, but she wasn't about to let her guard down. She stood there, firmly, still holding her bell out in case Ari tried to surprise her. But she didn't. Ari struggled to catch her breath, and then looked up at the other girl, silently, for quite some time. A smirk appeared on her even-paler face.

"Maybe you're more than just a kitten after all, Ichigo-neko." With that, Ari teleported from where she knelt, disapearing out of sight.

For a while, Ichigo just stood there, refusing to move in case Ari popped out of nowhere. Nothing happened. After several minutes, the girl slowly lowered her bell, making a double-take around the area, before transforming back into her school uniform and running off down the alley.

--

"Shirogane! _SHIROGANE_!"

Ichigo yelled as she pounded her fists against the cafe doors. They were locked. Why had Ryou locked these doors? He was inside, wasn't he? For a panicked moment, Ichigo thought that he was living somewhere else now.

A second later, however, the door opened abruptly, causing Ichigo to nearly fall over. There stood a rather drowsy looking Ryou, a sleepy-irritated expression on his face. As she hurriedly regained her balance, a strange and confused look crossed his face, and he narrowed his eyes - or was he squinting? "What are you doing here, Strawberry?"

"I was walkingbackfromschool and shetoldmeshe was going to -" Ichigo cut herself off, blinked, and tilted her head. "Were you... _asleep_, Shirogane?"

"Eh. Well," He muttered, combing down his messy mat of hair with one hand, "I was... up pretty late."

"It's 5 pm."

"_Really_ late," He retorted, stifling a yawn. "So, what were you saying?"

It took a moment for Ichigo to register and remember exactly what she had been talking about before she got distracted. A look of distress crossed over her face. "It's... I... Shirogane, there's an _alien_ here!"

Ryou didn't move. He just stared at her, blankly, and then blinked in obvious disbelief. "...alien?"

"Yes! _Alien_! She attacked me! And don't even try calling me crazy again, because I had to fight her!"

"_Her_?"

"Her name is Ari, and she's in my science class - _Oh my god_, Shirogane, how did she end up in my _science_ class? Why hasn't anyone _else _noticed her pointed ears or her golden eyes or - "

"Calm down, Ichigo," Ryou was standing fully alert now, completely serious, "Where did you see this alien?"

"School...no, that time she was normal, but then we got to this alley place and - Hey! Wait!"

Before Ichigo could finish explaining, Ryou had turned around and was stalking across the cafe floor, heading straight for the basement. She hurried after him. Ryou wouldn't say a single word as he walked briskly down the steps and into the lab, where he located a computer and promptly leaned over to punch some things in on the keyboard.

"Shirogane?" Ichigo asked quietly, her eyes glued to the screen as she stood behind him. He, too, was staring at the screen, trying to make something out.

"I don't see - hold on," Frowning, his fingers began flying across the keyboard, the image on screen flickering as it zoomed in. There were green dots wandering around, signalling the presence of people in that area. Nothing unusual. Ryou paused, and then clicked something. "There."

Since she didn't really see anything, Ichigo leaned closer to the screen, squinting. It looked exactly the same as it had before. Ryou lifted his hand, gently touching his finger to a faint red dot on the screen. "She's right there."

With another click, the dots began moving again, but the red dot was nowhere to be seen. The two of them just sat and stared. Ryou looked completely frustrated and helpless... Ichigo just looked completely clueless. For a long while, they said nothing, before Ryou broke the silence with an exasperated sigh. "... She's here, then, that's for sure. But she must be finding some way to blend in with the other people, without the computer even being able to pick it up... Much. There could just as well be more of them..."

"Oh no..." Ichigo's face fell, and she pulled her eyes away from the screen to look at Ryou. "..._more_...aliens?" She was completely crestfallen. Just the idea of going through all that again made her feel as if she were suffocating. It was hard enough as it was. But this time... _she would be all alone_.

After a while, Ryou stood to his feet, turning back towards Ichigo. He looked exhausted, from both lack of sleep and this disturbing new information. "Go home, Ichigo," He said quietly, "There's nothing we can do about this right now. The best thing is to get some rest. Try not to let it bother you."

"But-" Ichigo stopped herself, and took a deep breath before nodding. There really _wasn't _anything else she could do right now. Maybe Ryou was right... for once. Quietly, Ichigo nodded. She began making her way up the basement stairs, but then paused, turning back towards Ryou. "...Shirogane?"

"Yeah?"

"..._You_ need to take a break, too."

He smiled a little bit. "Yeah. I will, Ichigo."

The red-head smiled, slightly, before hurrying back up the stairs. He waited until he heard the door slam shut, and then turned back to the computer, sitting down and turning it back on. Ryou began typing something, and then slipped a disk into the drive, the light from the screen flickering on his eyes.

"So... They're back," He muttered to himself, scanning the information, "There's no way Ichigo will be able to handle them on her own, especially if there's more than one...And with the girls gone... Damn, there's got to be something..."

It would be a long night, that was for sure.

--

Ichigo decided to take Ryou's advice to heart, and did her best to relax and not think about the situation. _There's nothing you can do, there's nothing you can do, _she kept telling herself, over and over, and managed to get a pretty decent sleep. The next morning, she set out to focus completely on things like breakfast, finding Cherri, Roxi, Moe and Miwa on her way to school, and actually paying attention in class. It was actually turning out to be a fairly normal day. That was why Ichigo was so surprised when she walked into her first block Science class, and saw Ari sitting in her usual seat.

"" She froze there, in the doorway, for a long time. Ari. _Ari? _But she had _attacked_ her yesterday. Ichigo knew that Ari was really an alien. Why was she right here, in class? In _her_ class?

A student shoved past, forcing her to move along towards her desk. Maybe this was Ari's way of insulting her. Calling her a coward. Knowing that Ichigo would never have to courage, or trust herself enough to reveal the truth. It was almost as if the alien-girl was silently mocking her, testing her. Well, Ichigo _wasn't_ going to let it slip by. She was going to catch Ari by surprise.

"_Alien_!" She blurted, pointing a finger in the blue-haired girl's direction. The classroom fell silent, and several heads turned in her direction. Ari looked exhausted, but a little surprised by Ichigo's outburst. Nothing happened. Ichigo just blinked.

"Miss Momomiya, what is the meaning of this?" Mrs. Kazuhawa asked calmly. Ichigo glanced over at the teacher - adults knew these things, right? She already sensed that she and this teacher had a connection of some sort. Maybe, with her help, she could pin Ari to the spot...

"Ari Chiyako is an alien!" Ichigo repeated, glaring hard at the student in question. At this, Ari raised an eyebrow, looking thoroughly confused, yet uninterested. A murmur broke out through the class - a few students even began to stifle giggles. The red haired girl felt as if she were shrinking on the spot, but she stood her ground, and turned hopefully to Mrs. Kazuhawa. She flinched.

Maybe the connection had just been her imagination...

"Momomiya Ichigo," The woman hissed angrily, her eyes narrowed into a viscious glare, "Not only do you come to my classes late, but you _insist_ upon disrupting and insulting the other students. Without even so much as logical forethought, might I add."

"But-"

"Take a seat. _Now_. And please don't be late for your _after school detention_," Ichigo suddenly felt very small, and wished she could disapear. Everyone was whispering now, casting strange and sometimes fearful glances in her direction. Maybe that had been a mistake. No, she _knew_ that was a mistake. An impulsive, stupid mistake. Of course no one understood the nature of aliens like Ichigo and the others had. Ichigo herself didn't quite understand how Ari was able to look so much like a normal, if slightly foreign, person. Was that an alien ability? Why hadn't Kishu and the others used it?

"Don't worry about what she says, Ari-chan. I've heard that Momomiya girl is crazy, anyways," Ichigo heard Minako, the girl sitting beside Ari, mutter. Her shoulders slumped down. Slowly, she made her way over to her seat, and sat down, her face still red. People were still staring at her funny, so Ichigo just sat there and stared hard at the ground until class went on. Was it just her, or had Mrs. Kazuhawa been dragging out the silence on purpose?

Once most of the attention had been averted from her, Ichigo picked up her pencil and chewed on the eraser nervously. She had thought she was sneaking up on Ari. But, in the end, Ari had snuck up on _her_.

--

Meanwhile, in the basement of Cafe Mew Mew, Ryou hadn't left his computer. At all. Actually, once, he ran upstairs to grab a bottle of water, but hadn't touched the door again for the entirety of the day.

Not that he noticed. Time seemed to be slipping through his fingers like sand, and he needed all the time he could get. He couldn't be completely sure, but upon closer inspection some of the computer's tracking devices were acting up in reaction to some strange and hidden presence. Presenc_es_, even. This was just putting even more stress on Ryou - he just hoped that Ichigo was able to keep a clear mind, at least for now. She'd be needing it.

"...I hope this works," He muttered to himself after a long time, inspecting the final few touches on the program. Everything seemed to be in order... then again, he could never really be sure with this business. It didn't look like there was anything else he could do. Checking it over one final time, Ryou drew out the remote. He had used this before, but on less dangerous terms...

Flipping the panel open, he paused, looked up at the screen. The program slowly began humming to life. "Project: _Mew Blend_," He voiced aloud, pausing as his finger hovered over the one red button. Ryou seemed reluctant, almost as if he was hesitating, contemplating whether he should be doing this or not. But he knew. He knew there was no other way.

Ryou's finger pressed down on the button.

"_Commence_!"

--

"Huaa..."

Ichigo groaned as she finally exited the school building, feeling completely drained. What was it, 5:00? All the _other_ students in detention had been allowed to leave at _4:15... _But Mrs. Kazuhawa, apparently, had sent a note to the supervisor requesting that Ichigo be detained for an extra 45 minutes. Plus, she was sure that there was going to be a forced apology involved on her part... Ichigo sighed.

She decided she didn't like this new teacher, after all.

Something about sitting in a classroom for almost 2 hours made her feel tired, as boring as it was. Maybe it was just the boredom that had drained her so much - she didn't know. But Ichigo didn't feel like walking home today. Besides, it was getting dark - with all that had been happening lately, that was the _last_ thing Ichigo wanted to be wandering around in.

As she fumbled around in her bag for some bus money - the next transit should have come around by_ 5:30 _- Ichigo made her way over to the bus stop. The sun was starting to make its way down in the sky, but it was still comfortably warm outside. It wouldn't be much of a miserable wait. Maybe she'd even be able to chat with Masaya on her cellphone while she sat...

Nodding on that thought, Ichigo began to draw out her little pink phone when she paused in her footsteps. On the bench, presumably waiting for the bus, was seated another girl. She appeared to be a bit taller than Ichigo herself, with shoulder-length black hair tipped in hot pink. Her crystal blue eyes were glancing upwards, glazed over in deep thought. She was wearing a loose, baggy jacket, but Ichigo noticed the pattern of the skirt she was wearing underneath. Ichigo recognized it as the nearby High School girl's uniform.

Quietly, she checked the time on her cell phone. 5:10. It would be a little while still until the bus arrived... With a little sigh, the red haired girl plopped down on the bench beside the other, who barely seemed to notice. It was nice to get off her feet for once. On top of that, it was the weekend now - time for rest and relaxation. She gave a little smile at the very thought. There had to be at least one point when she could spend time with Masaya.

"Ahh, I hope he takes me somewhere for lunch," Ichigo wondered aloud without even realizing. This caught the other girl's attention, and she turned towards her, looking almost as if she had just woken up.

"Where?" The black haired girl asked curiously.

"Oh, I don't care... Somewhere fancy, _maybe_, but as long as I get to spend time with -" After she'd started talking, Ichigo froze, realizing that not only was she speaking out loud, but in response to someone else. She looked over at the other girl, eyes wide. "Eh?"

She started laughing a little bit, a wide smile on her face. "Heh, sorry. I didn't mean to pry. You were just talking, and there was no one else here, so I assumed..." The girl laughed quietly again, brushing a lock of hair from her face.

"Oh!" Quickly, Ichigo shook her head, turning towards the stranger fully now, "It's not your fault. I was just thinking out loud... I guess I do that sometimes."

"You too?" She inquired, smiling sheepishly, "I have to try really hard not to just doze off and start sleep talking... Guess we already have something in common. By the way, I'm Kona. Are you waiting for the bus?"

"Uhm, Ichigo," Ichigo introduced herself back simply, giving a little nod, "Yeah, I am. What about you?"

"Mm-hm," Nodding slowly, Kona looked thoughtful about something for a moment. Then, her eyes widened, a look of surprise spreading across her face, "Ichigo? _Momomiya_ Ichigo?"

Ichigo blinked. "Y-yeah...?"

"Ohh! So _you're_ that girl from Daikan that started that whole 'alien fiasco', neh?" Kona exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands together.

"W-_what_?" Ichigo cried in alarm, taken aback, "How do you know about that?" She had never seen this girl at school before. How did she know? It had only happened this morning!

"My sister, Sayai, goes there. She told me about it on my way home. Looks like you're quite popular today, Ichigo," Piped Kona cheerfully, cocking her head to the side, "I've even been hearing rumours about that from my classmates all afternoon. Word spreads fast around here, huh?"

Ichigo was completely silent, staring at Kona in horror. Her outburst had gotten all around the _school_? On top of that, to the _high school_? She was mortified. It made her want to crawl into a hole - a very dark, quiet, secluded hole - and die. Kona was looking at her funny, so she guessed she must have looked like some gaping idiot at that moment. Quickly recovering, Ichigo cleared her throat and managed to squeak a "So...". Her eyes fell over a backpack that Kona had set up neatly beside her. "Why are you out of school to late?" She asked in interest. Was it possible that she'd had an extra-long detention, as well?

Smiling, Kona looked over at her, but it faded rather quickly. She looked over at the street. "...I dunno," She said, finally.

"Ah?"

Frowning, she lowered her eyes to the ground, "I was fine all day, but when I was walking with Sayai, I started feeling really sick and dehydrated. I told her I would go to just buy a bottle of water, and meet her back home, but... Then I started getting really dizzy, and had this horrible headache. I guess I must have passed out somewhere."

"Oh, no," Ichigo's eyes widened, "Do you need to go to a doctor's office or something?"

"Ah, no, no," Kona hurriedly waved it off and smiled, "I feel fine now. I did as soon as I woke up. It was just strange, that's all. Kind of scary... And I don't trust myself with walking home again, just in case, so I'm taking the bus. It's not really a big deal."

"Oh. Okay," The redhead replied with a nod. They were quiet again, so she took this chance to check her cell for any messages. None. Not even a missed call. Ichigo sighed, and moved to stow it away when she saw Kona leaned over, rubbing her neck with a pained look on her face. Every few seconds she would flinch, and move her hand, but then run her fingers over and flinch again. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" She hadn't realized that Ichigo had been watching her, so she looked a bit startled. Kona moved her hand away from her neck, slightly, and shrugged. "Well, it's... I have a bruise, I think. I don't know when I got it, but it's on my neck, and it's been bothering me for a few hours now. It doesn't really hurt, but it feels funny when I touch it..."

"Do you play any sports? That's where it could've come from," Ichigo suggested, holding up a thoughtful finger, "Like, if you got hit by a ball, or tripped, or..."

Kona quickly shook her head. "Nope. I haven't fallen or run into anything, either."

Wrinkling her nose slightly, Ichigo tilted her head. "You sure? Here, let me take a look,"

Nodding, Kona scooted over a bit and turned so her back was facing Ichigo. With her hands, she made a part down the back of her hair, spreading the two sections apart so the other girl could see. "It should be right near the base of my neck, I'm pretty sure. That's what it feels like, anyways..."

Since she couldn't really see from the distance she sat, Ichigo squinted and leaned closer to get a better look. She stared, silently, for a minute, before she froze, her dark amber eyes widening in shock. "Kona-" Ichigo breathed, reaching over and tracing her finger over the dotted-heart design she found on Kona's neck, "Kona, _why do you have this mark_?"

-----

_Next Chapter:_

_Ryou has taken initiative, and the results are coming to fruit. What will this mean for Ichigo? More importantly, what will this mean for the lives he's put at stake? Six was supposed to be enough, but now that those six have been scattered, new paths must be opened. For Ichigo's sake, and the sake of the world._


	4. Pending Answers to Faulty Questions

**xuri: **You are all so amazing T-T COOKIES FOR ALL! xD See, see, see? See what happens when you review? Yeah. Chapter goes up the next day. Isn't that _AMAZING_? x3 So, to further demonstrate my point, here is a chain reaction right here -

You read. You like and/or hate the story. You review. Review goes up. I see the review. I read the review. I squeal and flail in joy and hug the monitor. I am inspired to edit next chapter. I edit next chapter. Next chapter goes up next day. All is happy.

Yaay! x3 Keep reviewing guys! I love you all! xD

_Applecake: Thank you sooo much for the reviews x3 It gives me warm fuzzy feelings when I get people commenting on the story and characters, so thanks. Hmm, come to think of it, maybe I should have delayed Ari's 'appearence'... make her unrecognizable or something like they tend to do in most mahou shoujo animes xD Then again, that would require a shift in the order of events... and that takes a lot of effort and creativity... sooo... xD Thanks for the input!_

_Kamyra: Hmm, do you know how far you've read in chapters? I'll try to get the rest up ASAP so you won't have to wait too long. Yay. -eats cookie-_

_SamKo: Yes, you are very worshipped. x3 Right right right, and the blend thing...er... I think it's explained in this chapter. Sort of. Maybe I should have chosen a better title? Although, if you look closely, every once in a while I sneak the work 'blend' into descriptions.. just cause I'm sneaky. Eheh._

Now on with chappie four!

I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew, and I don't own Kona _100 percent_. Credits will be given at the end. -nod-

---

**Blend (chapter four)**

**..pending answers to faulty questions..**

"Kona -- Kona, _why do you have this mark_?"

Ichigo exclaimed under her breath, her fingers pressing against the other girl's neck. Maybe a bit too much. She noticed Kona flinch right away, and hurried jerked her hand back, muttering a rushed apology. After that, Kona back towards Ichigo, curiosity floating in her blue eyes.

"..._mark_?"

"You - you have a mark. On your neck," Sheepishly, the red haired girl tapped the back of her own neck, almost like a demonstration. Kona just stared at her blankly, not following.

"Uh-huh," Nodding slowly, the wide-eyed teenager just stared at Ichigo. Like she was speaking in a different language. "A bruise. Right? Is it really bad? If that's the case, I'm lucky I didn't fall on my face, because then everyone would --"

"No! Kona, you didn't fall - at least, I don't _think_ you did," Ichigo waved her hands around frantically. She looked just as puzzled about the whole thing. "But, erm, there's... a different kind of mark. On your neck."

Kona just raised an eyebrow towards Ichigo. "What kind... of mark?" She asked suspiciously.

"It's a...uhm..." Ichigo shut her mouth quickly. _A Mew Mark_, she wanted to say, _if you have one, it means you've been injected with Red Data Animal DNA..._ But how was that even _possible_? There were only six of them. Well, there _had_ been five, but Berii's injection had been pure accident. The cat girl stared at Kona. Did this mean that she really _was _a Mew Mew? Ichigo would have thought of Ryou being more careful around his experiments after Berii's fortunate, but _unintended_, injection. _So how did this girl get a mark on her?_

Or... maybe it wasn't a mark. Maybe it really was just a bruise or something. If that was the case, Ichigo couldn't just go spilling her guts out to her. Kona was in High School. She'd be able to figure it out - if Ichigo inquired about the marks, it meant she knew about them. If she knew about them, that would mean either she was very intelligent and sneaky (Which Ichigo couldn't see anyone suspecting), or was a Mew Mew, herself. If Kona really wasn't a mew, and she found out about Ichigo... _Well, there goes the whole 'secret identity'._

Not that it really mattered. It wasn't as if Tokyo Mew Mew was on a crime fighting spree again or anything. Still.

"What?" Kona repeated, in an effort to break the sudden silence. Ichigo couldn't help but notice she looked a bit irritated_. Of course. I was rambling on like an idiot, and I didn't even explain my reason for it..._

She opened her mouth to say something back, but then lights appeared through the coming darkness. The two of them turned to face the direction from where it emerged, squinting, just in time to see the bus pulling into view. As it slowly lurched to a halt, both girls bent over to gather their things, and stepped onto the bus together.

It was completely packed. Ichigo had expected that, most people, not having to sit in detention for an hour longer than normal, would have just caught the 3 and 4 o'clock buses. Especially the students. But when she found a space of rail to hang on to, she noticed that there were a handful of people, sitting and standing, still wearing their school uniforms. Some were dressed in work attire, and looked absolutely exhausted. A few people looked like they were just there because they had nothing better to do. A few just seemed like they had no idea where they were and who was sitting beside them with their head on their shoulder.

Since there wasn't any space by Ichigo, Kona wandered over to the back of the bus, disapearing in the crowd. It didn't really matter. Ichigo was sure the other girl thought she was just a rambling psycho.

Was she, though? Ichigo rested her cheek against the standing pole absently. Was she really just rambling? Or was Kona really a mew, after all? If she was... Ichigo didn't know what to think of it. Ryou had never mentioned anything about another one. He'd never even hinted at it, or seemed to be considering it. Then again, they didn't really see eachother all that much now... She had no idea what was going on in his life. In his head, even.

Heaving a sigh, the strawberry-haired girl tilted her head to glance out the window as the scenery whirled by, plastered by the occasional light. Coming home late. Again. _Poor okaasan_, She mused to herself, frowning slightly, _Her wreck-of-a-daughter keeps running around and keeping secrets every possible way. Missing dinner, to boot. I'd better apologize... Maybe get her a cake or something._

_Oh. Cake?_ With a blink, Ichigo lifted her head to look out the window when something occured to her. Right. There was someone to see about this. They must have been only five blocks from Cafe Mew Mew... Hastily, she reached up to pull the rope, a light 'ding' echoing through the bus. _Next Stop. Sorry, Okaasan. I'll be home as soon as I can. _

After a minute or so more, the bus slowly dragged itself to a stop, the doors sliding open. Ichigo eased her way through the crowd, trying not to lose her bag and her arm in the process, but went a few steps past the first door. She snatched an arm, tugging it towards her. Kona's head turned around, startled, but not resisting the pull of the girl.

"Here, come with me," Strawberry girl said simply, and quickly dragged the other out the door and onto the sidewalk. As the bus pulled away, Kona looked like she had a sudden wake up call, and spun on her heels to face the retreating bus.

"H-hey! I don't have any more money..."

"Don't worry," Ichigo assured her quickly, letting go of her arm. There was a sense of urgency in her tone, "_He'll_ probably have some. I'm sure he owes it to you."

Kona scrunched up her face funny, as if to ask '_who's he_?' without saying anything, but Ichigo had already started down the pathway. Ryou would know. If he had done any experimental injections lately, he would remember, right? If not, then Kona was normal, and Ichigo had once again made a bad call. _Bye bye, reputation._ But if she was a _mew mew_, like Ichigo half suspected, then Ryou would have some explaining to do. And she wouldn't stop until she got all the answers.

"'Cafe Mew Mew'," Kona read aloud from the sign as she followed behind me, "Oh, I've heard about this place... I think. Wouldn't it be closed by now? It's kind of late."

"Yeah. I just... need to ask the owner something." It wasn't completely a lie. But Ichigo couldn't completely explain the situation to Kona, especially if it turned out she _hadn't_ been the victim of some crazy freak-show experiment. Then this would be just some ordinary outing with a psycho-driven girl.

"...And... why'd you bring me?"

Ichigo sweatdropped. Well, she wasn't prepared for that one. So, instead of replying, she kept walking. Would Kona keep following her if she didn't give her a reason? Would she ask questions? Ichigo didn't want to answer them until she knew. So, instead, she walked a little bit faster - and to her relief, the footsteps following behind quickened, as well.

"Well...I...Y'see..." She dragged her words slowly. _Shirogane, you had better answer that door..._

"Aw, don't trust her with your secret, Ichigo-neko?"

Her eyes widened, and her head jolted up to see a blue haired alien standing idly infront of her. Everything seemed to stand still at that moment - Ari, with a faint smirk on her face, eyes glinting with a mix of anger and amusement; Ichigo frozen, her eyes stricken wide and her body suddenly feeling icy cold. Silence. Thick, surrounding silence. It was shattered in an instant by a high pitched scream.

Ichigo winced, but instantly felt worry wash over her. _Oh, no, Kona!_ She'd forgotten for a moment that she was right behind her. And now, she was letting out a glass shattering scream, terrified, lost.

"I-Ichigo, w-why is she --"

"My hair doesn't look _that _bad, does it?" Ari mused aloud, twisting a strand of her dark blue locks around her finger playfully, "Hm. Oh well. No use fancying myself up for such a _short visit_,"

Gritting her teeth, Ichigo looked over at Kona, who had fallen back on the ground and was staring up at the now-floating alien in horror, her face as white as a sheet. Maybe it would have been better to explain the whole Mew-and-Alien situation to Kona, after all. Then again, Ari had been the last thing on Ichigo's mind...

"What's wrong, Ichigo-neko? You look _distressed_," Mocking genuine concern, Ari tilted her head to the side, outstretching her arms, "Here. Let me help you with that,"

A grin twitched onto her pale face, a pair of long, bronze knives appearing in her hands. Ichigo's heart fell. _She's going to attack us... I have to transform. And Kona will.. Eugh, I should have just stayed on the bus!_

"Mew Mew Strawberry, _Metamorpha-sis_!" In a bright, sudden flash, Ichigo stood in her Mew outfit, all posed and ready to go. Ari just had a _'finally' _look on her face, as she shifted her shoulders, getting ready to fight.

"Sorry, neko-girl," She said with a light smirk, lifting a sai directly into her line of vision, "But I'm not letting you get off easy this time, 'kay? Just try to put up a good struggle. It's entertaining, in the least."

Gritting her teeth, Ichigo held out her hand and summoned her Strawberry Bell. _What was her problem?_ It was all one big puzzle in Ichigo's eyes. How frustrating was it to put a puzzle together when you barely had half a piece?

"Ichigo...?" Remembering Kona again, Ichigo turned her head, glancing over at the other girl who sat, unmoving, on the cement, frozen to the spot. Her voice was wispy, weak, as if she could barely muster the courage just to speak. At once, she was overwhelmed with guilt - Kona really didn't have to be caught up in this - but she put on a small, assuring smile.

"Don't worry, Kona. I'll take care of this," She said softly, turning back to Ari, clutching her bell defensively, "You get somewhere safe. She's not after you."

"Aw. _Touched_," Ari mimicked wiping a tear from her eye, and then swivelled to her side, looking over at Ichigo dangerously, "Are you trying to delay it, Ichigo-neko? I don't blame you. I'd be scared, too."

"I am _not_ scared!" Ichigo burst suddenly, advancing forward, springing up off her foot through the air, whooshing straight towards Ari. "_Ribbon_ --"

"Oops!" The alien swung her leg around, barely missing Ichigo and sending her off balance and falling back to the ground. The pink girl was back up on her feet in an instant, panting to catch her breath. "Ooo. Kitty can land on her feet, I see,"

"_Stop! It!" _Ichigo growled, and dashed forward, the bell on her tail giving a light tinkle as she did so. She bounded up again, positioning her bell for a head-on attack.

"You really think that'll work again?" Ari retorted with a laugh, effortlessly dodging to the side. "I'm not that stupid. In fact, I have a few tricks of my own..." Her golden eyes narrowed into a menacing glare, and her fists closed tightly around the handles of her weapons until her knuckles turned white. "_Haa_!" She cried, and suddenly her fists burst into a flickering blue flame. It outlined from her wrists to her fingertips, even surrounding her dagger-like weapons. A cruel grin appeared on her lips. "Ta-_da_," She announced chirpily, before darting forward.

Ichigo was able to duck under the first swing - the alien seemed to be aiming for her head - but she felt the heat of the flames against her back as the sais passed barely passed over her. Straightening back up, she grasped her Strawberry Bell in both hands, aiming it towards the threatening alien. "Ribbon Strawberry Che--_EUUUGH_!"

Ari was right up in her face again, taking a slash at the offending cat-girl. She couldn't duck under or dodge this one, so she quickly moved her bell to intercept the attack. Only, upon contact, the heart-shaped weapon vibrated in her hands, sending an intense pain shooting through her arms. Ichigo's hands lost their grip on the bell, and it skidded across the ground, stopping a good few feet away. Ichigo cried out in pain and fell to her knees, clutching her burning arms tightly, her vision beginning to blur.

"Whew. I barely even got a workout from that," Ari muttered thoughtfully, but shrugged it off as she casually floated down to the ground, her feet making contact with solid land. She even took the liberty of stretching her arms out and stifling a yawn - not like Ichigo was going anywhere anytime soon. "Hurts, doesn't it, neko? Haven't you heard the lovely saying? '_Mess with fire, you get burned_.' Even though _my_ fire is_ much _worse... Sad you had to find that out first hand. But you're much too easy to fool, kitten." As she spoke, she slowly approached the crumbled girl, taunting, taking her sweet time. Then, Ari paused in her footsteps, putting a hand on her hip, the cool metal of her weapon resting against her bare skin as she watched Ichigo writhing there. "Hm. Tell you what - I'll make it quick for you. Painless. Almost. I'm in a giving mood today... lucky for you."

Smiling at Ichigo for a brief moment, she held her sais up in the air, lighting them aflame once more. "This is for Kishu-sama!" She hollered, anger suddenly shadowing over her face as she took off in a sprint towards Ichigo. The cat girl was defenseless. Gritting her teeth, she tried desperately to ignore the pain, and stretched her arm out, trying to grab her Strawberry Bell. It was too far away. No matter how hard she tried to grasp it, she wouldn't get any closer - unlike Ari, who was closing the distance between them like wildfire. _No...I can't... What am I supposed to do?_

"Kyah!" Ari had barely noticed Kona. She was just there, unimportant, acting like a little wuss behind Ichigo. In fact, Ari had forgotten all about her. Even Ichigo had forgotten all about her. She'd just assumed that the girl had fled like she'd been told. Instead, the black haired girl appeared from behind the rampaging alien, and, with a strangled cry, she leapt forward, grabbing Ari by the ankles and dragging her to the ground.

"What the --?" The alien girl yelped as she was thrown down against the ground, pinned down by a girl hugging her ankles. Maybe 'hugging' was too fond a term, but that was pretty much what she was doing. Making it nearly impossible for her to get up or move. Instead, she began struggling, throwing insults and curses at Kona, who continued holding her death grip.

"Kona..." Ichigo murmured in wonder, and then suddenly seemed to snap out of it. The pain in her arms seemed to be much less concentrated, so she was able to crawl over and pick up her bell, struggling back up to her feet. For a moment, she just stared at the alien, who was thrashing madly against the grip of a panicking Kona, who had her eyes shut tightly and didn't look like she would ever let go. "Kona, be careful!"

Opening an eye at the sound of her voice, Kona looked up at Ichigo. This was aparently a bad move, because in the next instant Ari had managed to flip-roll onto her back, bringing her legs in and then kicking them hard against Kona's exposed gut. She let out a vicious cry and was tossed against the ground like a rag doll, curled up in a ball. Ichigo thought Kona might have even been crying from the pain. Her jaw tightened in anger and she held her weapon outwards, keeping a wary eye on Ari, who had gotten back up on her feet and was floating a few feet away from where Kona lay. Just in case.

"Ari..." She hissed, and was suddenly interupted by a beeping sound. Both Ichigo and Ari blinked at the same time, turning their heads to locate the source. Ichigo's eyes fell over her backpack, inside which something was wriggling, trying to fight through all the clutter. Then, in a poof, a little pink fuzzball appeared from the opening, flitting over towards the girl. Ichigo's pink eyes widened. "M-Masha!"

"Ichigo! Ichigo!" Masha twittered happily, "Masha will help Ichigo! Masha will help!" With that, it opened its mouth into a large 'o' shape, a golden pendant materializing in the empty space. It floated happily over to the cat girl, handing the item to her, and she took it with a great deal of confusion. _A pendant_...? She blinked, realizing the dotted-heart symbol on it was the same as the one she had seen on Kona's neck. So that meant Kona _was_ a mew!

"Kona! _Catch_!" Ichigo shouted, tossing the pendant lightly through the air. The tweets from the strange pink fuzzball had caught the black-haired girl's attention, and now she saw a pendant flying towards her. As a reflex, her hand shot up and caught it, and she brought her arm back down to examine in, wincing again from the pain in her stomach.

"W-what is --"

"Say the words that come from your heart, Kona! They'll tell you what to do!"

Kona blinked, one arm still wrapped tightly around her stomach. "...My _heart_...?"

"Cut it!" Ari let out a battle cry as she ran forward at Ichigo again, her knives engulfed in flame. It took all of Ichigo's strength to practically roll out of the way, barely skidding past contact with the sharp objects. Alien-girl spun around and charged again, only to be intercepted with a _'clang' _by Strawberry Bell, Ichigo struggling to fight the pain that suddenly began coarsing through her arms.

"Mew Mew Powder, Metamorpha-_sis_!"

Both heads turned towards the pink-and-black light that had suddenly surrounded them. From it's depths emerged a tall, black-and-pink-haired girl, with glimmering pink eyes, a puffed black dress, boots, and gloves, and a pair of dark pather ears protruding from her head. Mew Powder. _Kona_.

"Kona!" Ichigo cried, half in delight, half in surprise. Ari, on the other hand, looked like she'd witnessed something impossible, and appeared to be stunned to the spot. She was silent, her mouth hanging slightly open, her eyes stricken wide, focused on the new Mew girl.

"...What!" She whispered in disbelief. _It can't be... There was only supposed to be one!_

Kona was with them in this. She looked down at herself, puzzled and shocked, one hand touching the ears that poked up from her hair, the other hovering above the black tail that swayed behind her. This was what had happened to Ichigo, wasn't it? When the alien girl popped up... _when she shouted those words_... Even now, she didn't completely understand... What was she? Why was she dressed in a black outfit, just like Ichigo's? More importantly, why did she suddenly have panther ears and a tail? _Why are these voices telling me..._

"Blossom Bell Bell!" The words spilled instantly from her mouth, a large, black ring appeared in her hand. It was fuzzy, and had a large silver bell situated in the middle; two pink wings spread from the center of the circle, giving off a warm glow. Ichigo just watched in wonder. Ari seemed to have snapped out of her shock-trance, however, and was taking this chance to take her down. Only, Ichigo noticed the advancing sais too late, and she was barely able to let out a scream.

"Ribbon Blossom _Shine_!" Kona screamed, rushing forward and holding her weapon out towards Ari. From it, a light pink glow, speckled with darker pink spots, burst, swallowing Ari's figure whole. The alien froze in her footsteps, and then tore herself away from the light, gasping for air. Ari looked up at the two cat-fused girls, weakly, not sure what to think.

_Hanajima told me... She told me that all the others were gone!_ Her gold eyes darted between Kona and Ichigo. _But here they are. Two of them. And they're both more powerful that I imagined. This could be a problem..._

"I'll cut this visit short," Ari managed, standing up straight. Her hands were still noticeably trembling from the attack on her, but she lifted one into the air, jerking it into a quick wave. "Ja ne." She dissolved into the air, disapearing from sight.

"Whew," Ichigo breathed, collapsing into a heap on the ground and de-transforming. She was still consious, but completely wiped out - a nap seemed to be the most appealing thing at the moment. But there was something else she needed to take care of, now, especially...

"Ichigo!" Looking up, Ichigo saw Kona rushing over, her black mew-outfit crumbling away, leaving her in her normal clothes. She hurriedly knelt down, putting a shaky hand on the girl's shoulder, checking to see that she was alright. "Are you hurt, Ichigo? Do you need - "

"Ah, no, I'm fine," She assured her, smiling sheepishly and sitting up. It sort of ruined to heroic-ness of the moment, but Ichigo couldn't help but yawn and stretch in a most cat-like way, as if she had just waken up. "Just... a little tired." Ichigo concluded, rubbing her eye sleepily.

Nodding, Kona bit her lip, her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. She glanced around - _where did that blue girl go?_ - before looking back at Ichigo, leaning in a little closer and whispering. "Ichigo... What... _What's going on_? Why did I... Why was I...?" Her eyes darted around, almost as if she were afraid someone would hear.

_Oh. Yeah._ Running a hand through her red hair, Ichigo stood to her feet, a pair of blue eyes watching her with a puzzled expression. As she thought about what to say, she brushed her skirt, cleared her throat, re-did one of her pigtails, put the shrunken Masha away, combed her hair with her fingers, and fidgetted in place. When she realized there was nothing else to do, Ichigo explained it as blatantly as she could think. "You're a Mew Mew."

"A..." Kona's eyes blanked as she scrunched her nose up at the girl, looking thoroughly confused, "...Mew...mew...?"

"Uhm...yeah...it's like..." Ichigo tried to explain slowly, but she was no good with words. Her amber eyes drifted to the side, falling over the cheery pink building of the Cafe. "Oh, um, come with me... I'm sure there's someone who can explain this to you."

_And me, too. Shirogane... what's going on here?_

--

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Ryou's hands twitched over the keyboard and he paused from his work. _Damn... I didn't think locating them all would be so hard..._ Still, he thought he heard something. It could have just been on account of his lack of sleep, but he turned his head towards the stairs. There was another knock, and this time he was convinced it wasn't just his overly exhausted imagination. Taking his time, Ryou stood to his feet, grabbed his half-empty water bottle and trudged up the stairs, taking a lazy swig and wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

_Hm. Wonder who it is..._ He thought idly to himself as he walked across the empty cafe floor towards the giant, two door entrance, _Ever since we closed, no one's been coming here except - _

"Strawberry," He half-greeted, raising an eyebrow as he opened the door, "What are you doing here?" His eyes lingered on her face for a moment. It seemed to hold a relieved expression, but that washed away quickly, replaced with an angry one. Uninterested in that at the moment, he glanced up to see another girl standing behind her, looking intently off to the side, a light tinge in her cheeks. "And... Who's she?"

"Oh, that's right, _Shirogane_," Ichigo said slowly, as if he might have trouble hearing or understanding her. Taking a step back, she grabbed a very reluctant Kona by the arm and dragged her right up to the blonde-haired boy. She gave her an encouraging, if forced seeming, pat on the shoulder. "_This_ is my friend. Kona."

"She looks too old to hang out with _you_."

"Shut up. She's only in High School."

"Mm-hm. And _you're_ not."

Ichigo glared. "That's not the point. _Anyways_, the most _interesting_ thing happened today when we were walking back from school. Would you happen to be able to guess what that _interesting_ thing was?"

"No. What?" He said boredly, but he had an '_oh-crap' _look on his face as he took another gulp of water.

"Well, I'll tell you," Ichigo continued, and she began pacing around the nervous-looking girl, staring accusingly in Ryou's direction, "It just so happens that, while we were waiting for a bus, I discovered a strange mark on her neck." Kona blinked at the mention of the mark again. "Point number two; as we were walking back home, who would show up but everyone's _favourite _female alien, all ready to take me down. You know the drill from there, _Mr. Shirogane_ - I transform into Mew Ichigo, attack her to save the world, blah blah blah. But you want to hear the _interesting_ part?" She stopped directly infront of Ryou, staring him straight in the eye for emphasis, "It just so happens that my _friend_ here recieved a pendant from your R2000, and transformed, too! Now, _why_ would I not know about this?"

Ryou was silent, his water bottle hovering idly by his lips. He appeared to be thinking this over. Then, tilting his head so he could see past Ichigo to a startled Kona, he asked, "Did this girl blackmail you into coming here? She says some crazy things sometimes. I apologize for her beha-"

"_SHIROGANE_!" Ichigo screamed as loud as she could, nearly causing the building to shake. Her face was burning red with anger, "Stop! It! Right! Now! I know you _had_ to have known about this, because you're the only one with this information! Stop playing dumb with me! Now spit it out!"

"A-actually," Kona cut in, her eyes wide at the loud display going on infront of her, "I really did transform into a...into a..." She glanced over at Ichigo for confirmation, "...'mew', and I had these strange powers... Oh, and I really do have a mark. On my neck. S-see?" Shyly, she parted her hair and turned so Ryou could see the little heart-shaped mark on the back of her neck.

Narrowing his eyes, the blonde leaned in a bit closer to confirm that it was, indeed, a mark. _The injection must have worked, then... _He thought to himself, before standing back upright and placing his hands absently in his pockets. "Hm. Guess you were right after all, Strawberry."

"I _told_ you!" Ichigo cried in triumph, a grin momentarily appearing on her lips. It faded away just as quickly, to a glare of intense and confused anger. "So, what, were you _ever_ going to be telling me there was another mew running around? Were you even going to _consult_ me, or just assume it was OK because you were the all-powerful-mighty-Shirogane Ryou?"

Ryou paused. "Four."

Ichigo stopped. "'Scuse me?"

"Four. There's actually four other mews, including her."

Ichigo's eye twitched. Her face seemed to take on a look of fierce fire. "_Excuse me_! Four? _Four_! Are you _out of your flippin' mind_? Are you trying to _replace_ Mint and Lettuce and the others? You -- you're such a -- such a..." An insult escaped her for the moment, but she continued on strong, "How could you, Shirogane? Did you take away _their _powers, too? I can't believe you!" She was right up in Ryou's face, shouting as loud as possible, trying to make him feel small and ashamed.

He, however, seemed completely unphased by her outburst. "Calm down, Ichigo. _No one_ is being replaced," Ryou glanced up momentarily, before turning around and stepping back into the Cafe. "Come inside, you two."

"Why are you acting like a gentleman? Stop avoiding the topic!" Ichigo stormed in after him, followed by a stunned-looking Kona.

"I'm not avoiding the topic," Ryou retorted blandly, shutting the door behind him and turning back towards the two girls, "I meant what I said. The other girls still have their powers. If they don't, it has absolutely nothing to do with me. I promise."

Ichigo appeared relieved. Briefly. Then her jaw clenched again, and she put an 'I-have-an-attitude-mister' face on, hand on her hip. "_Fine_. But what about Kona? What about those _other_ three you mentioned? You told me and the others that our DNA was just right for the injections. Does this mean that more people have the right kind of structure or whatever?"

"No. You're the only ones." He said simply, shrugging and leaning back against a table.

Ichigo was becoming frusterated. She was sure he just wanted her to keep asking the questions, herself. "Okay, then, how did you get the animal's DNA into _them_?" She jabbed a finger in Kona's direction.

"..." Ryou stared at Ichigo for a long, drawn out time, as if contemplating how he could word this so she would understand. Hunching his shoulders up a bit, a hand found its way to the back of his head and he glanced up at the ceiling. "Well, there were a lot of prototype programs for the Mew Project... back-ups, if you will. My father and I always knew that the DNA compatible based program would work the best, with the fewest glitches... However, you five, and Berii, were the only ones in the Tokyo area that were compatible enough to be fused."

"Point?"

"I'm getting to that," He growled impatiently, "Anyway, Ichigo, the girls are gone. You know that."

Ichigo silently looked down at the ground.

"And the aliens are back. Different ones, but they're back, nonetheless."

"_They_?" Kona exclaimed in alarm, and Ryou nodded in brief response.

"Whether you think so or not, I know you couldn't handle fighting them on your own, especially if there is more than one, like I suspect." Ichigo frowned at the comment about her _'not being able to handle' _something, "One of the beta programs was titled '_Blend_'. It was almost as effective as the one we used on you and the others, but much more dangerous. It's function was literally to blend a set animal's DNA into the blood of a human, compatible or not. If it wasn't used properly, it could result in the death of the infused." Both Kona and Ichigo flinched, "Luckily, the program we finished was very refined, and had been tested time and time again. We did everything to make sure that this method would not harm whoever was injected with the DNA. Besides, if anything did happen, it would have already happened. The effects are immediate. But there are some side -"

"So, Shirogane, you're saying that there _are_ more mews, so long as they haven't died from your mad experiment?" Ichigo cut him off eagerly, looking more like she was trying to critisise him than ask a question, "And, where are these other members of the team?"

"I leave finding them up to you two." He answered bluntly.

"_What_? Wah, Shirogane! You always leave the work to me! It's always workworkwork! _Work!_ Can't you just cut me a stupid break once in a while? Maybe put a tracker on these people like a _smart_ super-genius? Then I wouldn't have to run around and check people for marks like some psycho! I'm enough of a freak already!"

"I'll be sure to do that, Strawberry," Ryou said with a smirk, and then shifted over, turning to head back down to the basement. Before heading down the stairs, he paused, and turned absently back towards the two girls. "By the way -- since you're both here now and all... I'm re-opening Cafe Mew Mew. Your first shift is tommorow afternoon."

Kona flinched and turned cautiously towards Ichigo, who was standing perfectly still. She was sure the girl looked just like a ticking time bomb - blankly staring at the blonde boy, who was waiting patiently for her to throw an angry tantrum. Nothing. Ichigo just stared in disbelief.The silence sent a shiver up Kona's spine. There was no knowing when she would go off--

"_YES_!" Ichigo practically screamed in joy, jumping into the air with a gleeful giggle. Both Kona and Ryou stared, looking thoroughly freaked out by her... _positive_ reaction.

--

Ari stalked down the street in an angry huff, her blue hair flowing icily behind her. _How dare they. How dare they!_ She gritted her teeth firmly together, pushing past a small gathered crowd of people as she rounded the corner, continuing her brisk walk forward. _We checked -- they were gone! They were all gone! All except her... all except that hideous wench, that Momomiya. I could have taken her. I could have destroyed her._

She didn't even notice a car screeching to a halt as she crossed the street. She didn't care. They couldn't touch her. _No one_ could harm her. Which was why this situation made her so angry - she had escaped from that battle, even less alive than her first encounter with Mew Ichigo. The power startled and puzzled her at the same time - but mostly, it infuriated her.

_Something is going on. It's making this harder than it should be..._ Ari paused at a lamp post, pressing her palm against the metal. It singed around her hand, the placement of her palm becoming a rusty brown colour. _I will defeat her. Even if I can't do it alone anymore... I will make her pay._

Satisfied, she pulled her hand away and continued walking. But now, she had a destination. _It isn't looking good right now. But I'll change that._

_We'll change that._

_----_

_Next Chapter:_

_Kona and Ichigo have a mission, but how are they supposed to find what they're looking for? Even though Ichigo is overjoyed to be given a shot at the lifestyle she's missed so much, there are dangers lurking in every corner, especially if Ryou's suspicions are true. And Ari's willing to do anything to bring a certain cat girl down... even if it means having a little bit of help along the way._


	5. Aim for the Finish

**xuri: **Hi again! This one wasn't up as early as the last two have been, so for that I'm very sorry. I had to babysit this morning, so don't sue. Some of you might notice that the chapters are getting... er_, longer_. Yeah. It gets worse. xD Just be warned. Keep those reviews coming!

Kamyra: That would be chapter seven or eight, depends which part you're reffering to. :3 We're gettin' there. Yay. And thanks for pointing out the spelling mistake, that has been fixed. :D Hehe, feee. If anyone else picks these things up, please let me know. I want Blend to be as enjoyable and readable as possible, so your input is always appreciated!

Applecake: Ooo, isn't she? I loved writing for Ari, being evil is fun. _-cackle-_ Yay, someone doesn't hate the length. xD I tend to get very carried away with writing... it could just be because of plot structure, or because I like detail, or something. It's not just with fanfictions. Word limits kill me. x-x

I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew, or Yumi, or Hanajima. Completely, at least. Again, credits will be given after ch. 26. ;3

-------

**Blend (chapter five)**

**Aim for the Finish**

"_Whoo! _Sweepsweep_sweep_! Mop_mop_mop! Ehehe!"

Ichigo was pretty much floating across the cafe floor, mop in hand as she scrubbed away the dirt and dust. Kona was washing a table, and just blinked as the girl sparkled on past her, bearing a wide and genuine smile. She turned briefly back to the surface, cleaning the rim carefully to make sure it looked acceptable. Ryou had given them the simple task of '_making the cafe shine'_, as he had put it. And here Kona had expected Ichigo to whine and complain, or at least glare at the blonde boy. Instead, she agreed heartily and _skipped_ off in a hurry to get started.

As she watched the redhead now, Kona couldn't help but feel puzzled. It was as if she'd had a very sudden and drastic change of heart. When Ichigo started singing to herself about window-washing, she felt a little bit suspcious. And afraid.

"Uhm, Ichigo?" Kona inquired, setting her cloth down on the table. Halting in her singing, the strawberry girl turned towards her curiously. "Didn't you say that you wanted Ryou-san to give you _less_ work?"

"Oh, uh-huh," She piped cheerfully, leaning the mop handle up against the wall, "But that's different, you see. I was talking about the _alien fighting missions _and _finding members _and stuff - those are just frustrating. But, ah, I missed working here _sooo_ much!" Ichigo squealed and practically glomped one of the chairs.

Sweatdropping, Kona nodded, slowly, and resumed her table washing. She still didn't understand. Then again, much of this situation remained a complete mystery to her... She wasn't sure what was fact and what was fiction any more. It was as if she'd suddenly stepped into a fantasy world, with magic and aliens and shiny costumes. The girl didn't know yet whether she liked it or not. It had just been handed to hear neatly on an 'EAT OR DIE' platter, so Kona doubted she even had a choice.

"Oh, wow, Shirogane got new _tables_!" Marvelled Ichigo, rambling on even though Kona didn't appear to be listening, "They're so cute! And matching chairs, too... Wah, the customers will love it! Oh, I hope Akasaka-san finishes that cake soon. I can't wait!" Giving a happy sigh, she absentmindedly brushed a piece of dust from her uniform skirt. "Man, I missed this. I think I took it all for granted... The uniforms, the delicious cakes, the adventure, the excitement..." She counted it off with ease on her fingers, her eyes directed up at the ceiling, "Hmm, yours is really cute, Kona. He sure made it fast..."

Ichigo looked at her red cafe dress, and then over at Kona's. Ryou had made it mostly black, but the edges were lined in a hot pink. It was cute, really, but she was wondering if he would eventually run out of colours, with all the new soon-to-be-once-they-were-actually-found employees. And then she wondered why she'd even have the time to wonder about something like that.

"Gah! Back to work, customers will be here soon!" With a happy chant, Ichigo raced off to continue her cleaning escapade. Kona couldn't help but smile as she rung the cloth out over the mopping bucket. Even if it was a bit strange... and hard to believe... and a little more than a normal girl should have to handle - she decided she _might_ just like this kind of life.

"Oi!" A voice called from down the stairs, a blue-eyed head poking out from the doorway, "Are you two almost finished? I'm opening the doors in _five minutes_!"

"Yes, Shirogane!" Ichigo called back eagerly, and made a move to put her mop back in the storage closet. Blinking, Kona quickly finished up and went to do the same, her cafe shoes clinking delightfully along the floor as she did so. Just as they had stowed their cleaning supplies away, footsteps made their way against the staircase until Ryou appeared on the main floor, checking over the area skeptically. After a moment, he seemed satisfied, and continued walking over towards the door, passing Kona and Ichigo, the latter chattering on about how the cafe worked.

"... And, of course, in a few hours, the place will be _nearly_ packed! I mean, people completely love this place. I don't blame them - it's adorable, and well decorated, and the pastries are -"

"Opening doors," Cut in Ryou with a mumble, flipping the pink sign in the window to '_Open!' _and unlocking the entrance.

"Alright!" Clasping her hands together, Ichigo put on her game face, smiling cheerfully over at Kona. "Ready?"

The black haired girl smiled nervously. "Ready."

Nodding, the red-clad girl turned towards the doors, putting on a bright and cute-cute smile. They waited. After a few moments, the doors opened with a _jingle_, and in stepped a young couple. They seemed happy, looking around at the atmosphere of their surroundings as they walked inside together. The girl was tall, with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing casual but girly clothes. Holding her hand was a long black haired boy, with dark eyes to match, gazing fondly upon his companion. Ichigo's eyes sparkled.

"Wah, they're _so_ cute together!" She whispered to Kona, and then threw up her arms in greeting to the two, yelling in a loud voice, "Welcome to Cafe Mew Me-- _WUAAAAAAAAHHHH_!"

Out of absolutely nowhere, the doors burst open and a large, seemingly endless crowd of people stormed inside, nearly trampling the two girls to death. Well, actually, Ichigo _did_ get trampled near to death, and at this point lie sprawled out on the floor, twitching. Kona somehow managed to sidestep the madness, watching with a strange look on her face as customers rushed to their seats.

Chants of, "_What cute wallpaper_!", "_Kawaii! The tables look good enough to eat!", _"_Those waitress uniforms are simply adorable. I wish I worked here..." _and "_Oh, I hear the cakes are really good. Apparently Akasaka Keiichiro is the chef!" _filled the air, creating a very noisy environment. The couple that had been the first to arrive had disappeared somewhere in the crowd, but... Ichigo had more things to worry about right now.

"Ichigo!" A certain blonde's voice from the kitchen hollered, "There's customers waiting to be seated! Ready to order at tables 3, 5, and 12! Ask Keiichiro to make another raspberry cheese cake, will you? We have orders ready to be taken to the tables! _Hurry up_!"

"H-hai!" Quickly peeling herself off the floor, Ichigo was back up on her feet again, quickly straightening out her outfit and checking her hair. Then, with another energetic-yet-exhausted burst of cheeriness, she zoomed off to seat people, tend to people, serve people, and carry out any orders that the '_taking-advantage-of-a-strange-situation' _Shirogane shouted at her. Kona just watched, blankly, and then chuckled to herself before making her way to the customers to do exactly the same.

_It would be an interesting day..._

--

"...So you see where this leaves us."

Ari leaned back against the table as she finished her explanation, arms folded curtly over her chest. Frankly, she looked completely wiped out, still, with faint lines beneath her eyes, and a weary expression on her face. She ran a hand through her hair and heaved an exasperated sigh. "You understand, then, don't you?"

"Yes, I understand," A voice replied to her icily. The room Ari was in was pitch black, save for a small crack of light coming in through the door and just barely illuminating her face. The other figure remained in the shadows, "But wasn't it you that claimed you could take the kitten _'on your own'?"_

The teenage-alien snarled in response, jerking her head to glance off at a wall. "So what? I _could_ have taken _her_. If she hadn't pulled that lame attack on me the first time, I would have been able to _take her down_ without a problem."

"And the second time?"

"I told you," Her retort was only half-hearted, "_She's not the only one anymore._ Weren't you listening at all?"

"We did not come here to destroy some _other _brat, Ari," The shadowed replied coolly, "Momomiya Ichigo has and always will be the target. I think it is _you_ who fails to understand."

"The point is, they pulled a dirty trick on us. _They_ just shot another Mew-girl at us from out of _nowhere! _Who _knows_ how many others there are..."

"Are you proposing we give up, then?" Ari flinched physically at the suggestion. The other in the room always knew how to shut up her whining... After an annoyed grumble, she submissively shook her head and glanced off to the side. "That's what I thought. Our mission is still the same, you see. We just have a few roadblocks to knock away."

"'_We_'?" The blue haired girl snorted in offense. "I can do this on my ow-"

"From what you've told me, you were unable to even _harm_ the kitten when that other girl came into the picture. What makes you think you can destroy them both, especially if there _are_ a handful more?"

Gritting her teeth, Ari shifted uncomfortably in the place she stood, her blue-and-gold eyes flickering in thought. It was silent. Eerily silent. She had been backed into a wall, and her pride was at stake... But what good was pride if you couldn't take down a measly strawberry-haired girl?

"Fine," She gave in, slunking against the wall in something of a pout, "Fine. I'll let you help me. But don't you _dare_ go weak on me, Hanajima. There'll be hell to pay."

--

After several hours of cakes, sweets, and complete cafe madness, Keiichiro decided to give the girls a break by herding the last of the customers out the door and closing up for the night. Ichigo was half sprawled out on a table, asleep, her head lolling off the edge and resting on the chair's metal backrail, snoring loudly. On Ryou's request, Kona started gathering up plates and silverware, having to nudge the sleeping girl several times to retrieve the dishes she was laying on.

"Thanks a bunch, Kona-san...er... You two," The brown haired male remarked with a light sweatdrop at the sight of hit-the-sack-Ichigo, "You girls did great today, even though it got pretty hectic. Hopefully it won't be so tough tommorow."

"Ah, it wasn't _that_ hectic," Kona waved it off with a smile as she made her way over to the kitchen with a teetering pile of plates. Or, maybe it _was_... Considering it didn't seem very normal for Ichigo to fall asleep the minute a table became vacant. At least, to her. Plus, she figured Keiichiro must have made dozens of cakes in just one day, and not a crumb was leftover. _This Cafe must really be popular,_ She mused to herself and grinned, disapearing back into the kitchen for a moment.

For a moment, Keiichiro looked like he was considering waking Ichigo up. That is, until she gave a loud, awkward snore and rolled onto her side, curling up into a little ball and mumbling something about parfaits. He blinked and turned away with a nervous chuckle, and then wandered back into the kitchen, where Kona was carefully setting dishes into the sink.

"I can take care of that, Kona-san," He offered graciously with a smile, taking the last of the dishes from her, "It's getting late, anyways. You and Ichigo can leave now, and we'll see you tommorow."

Pausing, the blue-eyed girl looked up at him nad then nodded. "Alright. Thanks, Keiichiro-san." She bowed slightly before heading back into the main area, freezing when she saw Ichigo about to flop off the table. Hurrying over, she quickly caught the girl by the side and supported her, shaking the redhead gently to wake her up.

"Hunh..? Wheresda ice cream?..." Amber coloured eyes opened with a yawn as she tried to cling to the table and fall back asleep.

"Er, come on, Ichigo," Kona persuaded with a nervous laugh, steadying her friend by the shoulders once she was on her feet again, "Time to go home. Then you can sleep all you want, 'kay? On a bed, even. It's probably more comfortable than a table, anyways."

"...apple tarts to table 4..." Ichigo mumbled in a sleepy-happy voice as she was dragged out of the cafe.

--

"Ichigo-chan keeps having mood swings," Roxi commented as she and Cherri watched their Strawberry friend skip towards the school entrance, "Yesterday and the day before, she was so gloomy and out of it."

"Mm-hm. Wonder what's wrong?"

Pretty much everyone was puzzled by Ichigo these days, even those who didn't know her. One day, she could be the '_gloomy girl who runs into things'_, and the next _'the happy-go-lucky-girl that runs into things_,' and then the next _'that sleepy, stumbly girl who runs into things'. _Today was somewhere in between. But how _couldn't _Ichigo be happy?

Not only was her life of excitement back, with all the mystery and anxiousness included, but she had a whole new group of friends to look forward to. The bond with the original girls of Tokyo Mew Mew seemed like it would last forever. Ichigo didn't doubt that. But it would be so nice to be surrounded by people again, to work together as a team. _Sure_, there was a maniacal alien after them all for no apparent reason - but how could you go on an adventure without one?

She was going to meet Kona after school before they went to Cafe Mew Mew. That was excitement enough - the 17-year-old girl seemed interesting, and already proved to be a lot of fun around. Plus, it made her feel so much less clueless about the plot going on all around her... Not because Kona had the answers, but more because she didn't. For once, Ichigo was the one that knew the _most. _She wasn't sure how long that would last, but she was going to savour it. Sweetly, in fact.

Still her clutzy self, Ichigo breezed through the day easily. And, just like she had missed, instead paying any attention whatsoever during class, she daydreamed about aliens and the cafe and who the other mews would be... Just like before. Like those '_happy days'._

In fact, Ichigo was in such a good mood, she was sure nothing could bring her down. Even though there was an alien loose in the school and no one knew it. Even though she was now considered the 'crazy redhead who rambles about aliens'.

Even though she was on her way to Science class next.

No, it would be a good day. Ichigo would make sure of that.

--  
"Sunny!"

With a gleeful giggle, Ichigo smiled up at the sky. So far, so good, neh? Especially since, upon entering the classroom, it seemed Ari had been decent enough to skip. No awkward-encounters with aliens today, so Ichigo was relieved. There was whispering, still, about the 'incident'... But she figured it would go away eventually. It had to... Right?

Trying to keep her mind off anything negative, she made her way over to the bus stop, the agreed meeting position. Kona wasn't sitting there. Ichigo felt her happiness flicker for a moment - suppose Kona didn't show up? - but it regained itself once she saw the black haired girl approaching from the other end of the street. With a bright grin, she waved down the high school girl, who signalled back and hurried over, her face shining as well.

"Oh, hey, Ichigo. I was almost worried you wouldn't come."

Ichigo giggled. "Eheh, same here. C'mon, lets go."

Nodding, Kona shifted her bag around and the two started heading down the sidewalk.

"You seem cheerful today," The blue eyed girl commented, catching a brief glance of a very happy Ichigo.

"Eheh, yeah, I guess," Ichigo said with a wide smile, tilting her head and even giggling slightly. It was a good day. It would continue being a good day. Even if she didn't have a single good day ever again... this, she would always have. "You sound just like my frien-"

Her footsteps stopped abruptly, and a blank look crossed her face. It took Kona a few moments to realize the girl beside her had fallen behind. Turning around slightly, she blinked. "What's up?"

For a bewildering moment, the redhead just stood there. Then, she grimaced.

"Gack," Hitting a fist to her forehead, Ichigo shook her head. _I can't believe I forgot!_ After that, she glanced up at Kona, hunching her shoulders up sheepishly. "Heh, my friend has a friend in our school's track meet, and she invited me to come... Stupid Ichigo, forgetting something like that..." She muttered angrily to herself as an afterthought.

Nodding slowly, Kona squinted slightly. "Sooo... It's today, I guess?"

Ichigo nodded her head.

"Right now?" Another nod. Scrunching her face up a bit, Kona glanced up at the sky, and then back down at Ichigo. "What do you want to do about it?"

The red haired girl just gave a half-hearted shrug, her fist still balled up neatly against her forehead, pushing her bangs up. Her amber eyes were glazed over in thought for several moments, before suddenly lighting up. With her _this-day-only _grin, she dropped her hand and held it out towards the other girl. "How about you come with me? I know it's not like, _High School _track or anything, but it's still pretty good... I think."

"Eh?" Blinking, she looked off to the side, chewing her lip for a brief moment. "But...the cafe..."

"Ahh, Shirogane won't mind!" Ichigo chided with a wide smile, waving it off happily. By this point, she had already grabbed Kona's on and was walking in the opposite direction. "I mean, we'll only be gone half hour... hour, tops. They can handle it 'til then."

"Er..." Tilting her head in confusion, Kona made no effort at pulling away but looked really reluctant, "Ryou-san said he wanted us there right on time... or else he'd-"

"_Shirogane won't mind," _She repeated firmly, and then, satisfied, continued dragging her across the street.

--

"Wowww! There are lots of people here today!"

Exclaimed Ichigo as they entered the stadium. Mini-stadium. Something. It was probably more a field than anything - there was a tar-like mat with markings on it, for sure - and the few bleachers bordered around it neatly. Most of the seats were filled, with, primarily, parents and relatives. Older people, at least. There were the occasional group of students coming to cheer on their friends, as well, so it really _was_ crowded. Ichigo and Kona concluded that they'd have to stand, as there was no room to sit down. Neither of them was too bothered by it, though Ichigo was resisting the urge to whine.

"Right on time. Looks like it's already started..."

In fact, if anything, the girls were late. They'd already finished the Junior Boys and Girls' divisions; now they were on to Intermediate. Still, to Ichigo, this was 'on time', because she was sure that Roxi's friend was in the 8th grade. Otherwise, she might have to make up some interesting story about how she was really here all along, just somehow blending into the crowd strategically...

"They're lining up!" Kona exclaimed under her breath, moving a few paces forward to get a better view. Snapping out of it, Ichigo followed behind, trying to identify the 'friend' she'd come to watch. That was when she realized she'd never even met her, let alone be able to_ identify _her...

The crowd of Intermediate Girl runners organized themselves neatly into lines, stretching and getting into position for the track. She recognized some of the track suits as Daikan's colours; shorts, work-out tank tops, even armbands. Ichigo leaned forward a little bit, trying to see if she could count the number of girls from her school. _One... two...thr-_

"..._GO_!" A voice hollered, and a gun went off. Ichigo nearly shrieked in surprise, falling over and feeling her cat ears pop up from her head. Giving a squeal of discomfort, she curled into a ball in an attempt to hide them, while Kona stared down at her with a sweatdrop running down her head.

"Ehhh... Ichigo... That was just the race starting..."

It took about a minute, but the strawberry girl finally managed to calm down and clambered back up to her feet, acting like nothing had happened. A few were stealing strange glances at the girl, however, but they never lasted long. It was obvious the race was the center of attention. And, since that had been the whole point of coming here, Ichigo decided she might as well _watch_. And try not to have a panic attack in the process.

_Fast_. That was the first word that struck her mind, but it barely did the view justice. The runners bolted down the track, their figures nearly blurring. She couldn't see their faces, but she was sure they were drawn, intent, determined. Ichigo had never been much of an athelete... well, before the injection, at least. She sweatdropped, remembering the Gymnastic Club incident. Yeah, she really wasn't sure she ever wanted to get involved with that kind of stuff again... but... She couldn't help but feel envious at the athletic people currently running. They were even_ younger _than her.

"Neh, Ichigo... Look at her!"

Turning to Kona briefly, she nodded, and then tried to follow the direction the black-haired girl was motioning towards. Her brownish eyes fell over the lead runner - a short appearing girl, leading the pack by a good few feet. It was hard to see, but... She could have sworn that this girl was barely exhausted at all.

"Whoah. She's _fast_!"

"I _knooow_! Yumi-chan is _so _amazing! " A chirpy voice appeared beside them. Giving a startled jolt, Ichigo turned around to see the brown haired girl suddenly appeared by them.

"Ah. Roxi," Ichigo smiled fondly, "I wondered where you were!" Blinking, she looked back over at the track. Runners were starting their second lap now. "That girl in the front... Is she that friend you were talking about?"

"Mm-hm! That's Yumi-chan," She said with an eager nod, eyes sparkling, "Isn't she _fast_?"

"She sure is," Kona mumbled, more to herself than anything. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the run. "_Really_ fast..."

"Yep. I helped her myself," Roxi grinned proudly, tucking a lock of hair neatly behind her ear, "I mean, she wanted to give up sooo many times... But I kept saying, _'Yumi-chan, you can't just drop out! You'll be really fast someday, I just know it_!' And I guess I was right, huh?"

"Why would she even _consider_ dropping out if she's this much of an athlete...?" Kona pondered aloud, squinting in the race's direction. Third lap. Yumi was still in the lead. She was bent over forwards, her arms pumping, legs beating against the track tar fiercely. The way she ran looked a lot more like a jumpy gallop than a sprint... And in truth, she didn't appear all that athletic. Her legs weren't bony or anything, but they lacked the muscular curves that the others seemed to have. _Suppose she wasn't always this fast...?_

"How would _I_ know?" Retorted Roxi, finally noticing the other girl in the group. Looking at her with a frown, she sighed in exasperation. "Mmm, I think Yumi-chan just wasn't trying hard enough...or _something_,"

"Utayoko Yumi," A man's voice startled the entire group, "My pride. The fruit of hard work and training. My _star athlete_..."

"Errr..." Ichigo stared at him oddly. Blankly. Then, she recognized him from somewhere - school? Hallways? No, not the hallways, but somewhere else... bigger. _Click. _Gymnasium. "You're the... track coach?"

"That's me. Coach Aikane." He nodded this off quickly, eager to discuss other topics. "Yes, Utayoko... Never had much promise. So it seemed. But I know all along there was a talent hidden in there, just waiting to be unleashed... and here it is."

"Erm... Neat," Was all Ichigo said, a little creeped out by the sudden sparkle in Coach's eyes. Since he was too distracted bragging about his success with the Utayoko girl, the redhead averted her attention back towards Kona. She, however, was intently gazing on the track, a frown plastered on her face, eyebrows drawn together in concentration. Shrugging, Ichigo looked over at Roxi, and smiled. "Um, Yumi is doing very well."

"Of course! I'm so proud of her," Roxi chanted, clasping her hands together, marvelling at her wonderous friend, "Ah, they're putting up the hurdles now, for the finish...?"

"_Hurdles?" _Scrunching her nose slightly, Ichigo turned back to the track, and turned to see that the marshals were, indeed, setting up hurdles for the final few meters. The runners were still coming around the turn, putting all their speed into the final distance, and were a good few yards behind the finish line. The crowd fell silent, and then erupted into a loud roar - cheering, chanting, shouting and screaming. Ichigo felt swept up in the moment, blanking out in the noise before covering her ears. "Aiyee!"

"She's still winning," Kona murmured, still staring hard at the track. There was a hint of shock in her voice. All the runners were gaining sudden bursts of speed, trying to pull ahead for the final distance. And, yet, Yumi somehow managed to speed up even still. _Odd... She 'never had much promise'. She 'wanted to give up'. And yet here she is, possibly the fastest runner of all the divisions... Where did she get this speed?_

"Almost there! Come on, Yumi-chan! Don't let them pass you! _Go-go-go_!" Roxi hollered, waving her arms frantically. Coach Aikane had disapeared somewhere to tell someone else his '_Utayoko Success Story'_. Ichigo doubted that anyone would listen. This was where the race became really heated.

The runners kept pulling ahead, falling behind, pulling ahead again, as they braced themselves for the hurdles. There had been 3 set up on each lane, about 5 meters apart each. The last hurdle was 10 m from the finish - the 'dash zone'. And they were approaching it with vicious speed.

"GO!" Roxi hollered once last time, nearly doubling over to catch her breath. Kona was silent, unmoving, though Ichigo glanced back to see that her excited friend was all right.

A wild cheer rippled its way through the crowd, and the Strawberry girl heard Kona catch her breath. When she faced her again, she saw the high school girl's eyes were wide, her mouth slightly open. It was as if something had occured to her.

"Ichigo...watch..." She breathed, and Ichigo nodded, obediently turning towards the track again. They'd all cleared the first hurdle, except for one girl, that had accidentally knocked hers over. She wasn't from Daikan, anyways. As the track runners sprinted towards the next hurdle, Ichigo tried to watch as intently as Kona was, though she was unable to see what was so interesting. At least, not until they reached the hurdles.

Most runners were able to leap over without a problem, or so much as a flinch. There were some, of course, that looked panicked and stressed, but the majority cleared them with ease. It was recovering from the hurdles that seemed to be a problem. Once they were in the air, they had to land, of course. Back on their feet. It took a mere second, but there was always a stumble, slight as it may be, once the feet came back into contact with the ground. It took a few precious seconds to regain the speed they'd had before.

Yumi was the only one not encountering this problem.

She soared over the hurdles as easily as anyone; an elegant glide. When her foot hit the ground, it simply sprung her forwards, increasing her speed instantly. There wasn't so much as a stumble involved. This gave her more of an edge than she already had.

"There's _no_ way..." Kona looked completely puzzled now, unable to pull away, "There's no way someone could run like that unless they'd been an athlete all their life. It sounds like she _hasn't. _It sounds like she's been struggling... Up until now, that is. Don't you find that odd?"

"I...guess," Ichigo said slowly, squinting as Yumi hurdled over another obstacle, landing with perfect balance and sprinting off. _So fast...too fast... Changed kinda like - waitaminute!_ Swivelling around in alarm, Ichigo faced Kona with wide eyes. "You don't think she's --!"

"Utayoko Yumi! _First place_!" A cheer roared through the crowd, cutting Ichigo off. She didn't need the words. They both understood the situation.

"Ichigo-chan? What's wrong?"

Blinking, Ichigo spun around to face Roxi, who looked overjoyed but confused by the shocked expressions on Kona and Strawberry's face. Fixing a pigtail messily, she gave a smile. "Ah, nothing, nothing. We need to leave though, okay? You tell us how the ceremony...awards...whatever goes."

"Oh," Looking slightly disapointed, Roxi just shrugged, "Alright. See you later," With a wave, she hurried off in excitement to congratulate her friend.

Kona and Ichigo stood there. Just stood there. For a long, long time. Finally, in an effort to make something happen, the older girl turned to face Ichigo, looking exhausted by the situation. "Let's go."

Agreeing immediatly, Ichigo followed Kona over to the bustling crowd. They'd wait. Right now, Yumi and the runner ups for the Intermediate Girls race were being swarmed by people and congratulations while the Intermediate Boys were lining up. This wouldn't be the best time to confront her. So they'd wait.

Soon, the crowd dispersed, getting ready to watch the next set of 8th graders. The girls were all wandering off now, to change, possibly shower, and relax. Ichigo wouldn't know. She'd never really _known_ a track runner. It took only a few moments for them to locate Yumi - they weren't surprised to see she didn't look nearly as tired as the others - and the two began to wave frantically, trying to catch her attention.

"Hey! _Heyyy_! Yumi!" Ichigo cried, and Kona winced.

"She doesn't know who you are!" The black haired girl hissed. Ichigo blinked and then sweatdropped. "Ohh. Yeah. Hehehe." She smiled sheepishly.

They _had_ succeeded in catching Yumi's attention, however, and the short girl paused briefly in her footsteps to curiously look back at them. Her hair was dark, almost brown, and had a reddish colour to it, cropped short around her head. The girl's bangs were styled neatly, but many hairs had strayed away from all the excersise. She was still clad in her Daikan track suit. Her light red eyes flickered, and everything was perfectly still.

Then, she bolted.

"_HEY_!" Ichigo shouted, nearly falling over. Spinning towards Kona, she pretty much yelled, "Why the heck is she _running away_?"

But before she got an answer, Kona had bolted off, herself. Ichigo blinked in alarm. "What the - _WAIT!"_

Dashing off in an effort to catch up to the high school girl, all three were now running at full speed. Even though Ichigo eventually managed to catch up to Kona, which nearly killed her, neither of them were able to come even close to the track athlete Yumi, who was still running at an unbelievable speed.

"We--can't--let--her---get--away!" Kona panted, looking over at the girl running beside her. At first, Ichigo couldn't speak, but she managed to sputter something out -

"Whatdoyouwant_me_todoaboutit?"

Slowing down a bit, the black haired girl shifted to the side, bending over. "Cat jump!" Was all she hollered, and then turned to face forwards again.

Completely confused, Ichigo just stared at Kona. Cat jump? What was that?... It took her a while before she remembered that both her and Kona were infused with cat DNA. _Oh. But what does she mean by...?_ It clicked in her head, and her eyes widened. Kona glanced over at her expectantly, and began moving over before Ichigo could protest.

Giving a whine, she lowered her head in defeat, slowing down slightly as well. Kona bent over even further, until her back was low enough. Shaking her head and tensing up, Ichigo held her breath and leapt up onto the girl's back, clinging for dear life to her shoulders. Kona picked up speed, even with the added wait on her back.

"Gah, you're_ heavy_!" She commented in a breath, and then faced forward again, "Ready?"

"_No_!" Ichigo cried, but Kona didn't listen. She skidded one foot against the ground, and bounded up into the air as high as possible. Ichigo wouldn't move.

"GO!"

Shutting her eyes, Ichigo couldn't believe she was doing this. Letting go of her shoulders, she seemed to be suspended in the air for a moment, high above everything else; then, as a cat reflex, she balanced her feet on Kona's back and sprung off in seconds. "Nya!"

She felt Kona knocked down beneath her as she soared into the air, but heard a prompt gasp of "_I'm alright_!" below. As Ichigo was hurled through the air, she kept drawing closer and closer to the speeding Yumi. However, as she began losing air, Ichigo discovered she'd be a few feet short. The landing would be too painful for nothing. As she began plummeting back to the ground, she stretched her arms and legs out, bracing herself for impact. Just as she suspected, she wasn't close enough to Yumi - much to a disapointed cry from Kona far behind - so as her foot made contact with ground, she gave one last spring and catapaulted forward, slamming right into the girl.

"_Tsu_!"

"_Nya!" _

Both cried out at the same time as they collided, tumbling to the ground in a heap, trying to catch their breath. To no surprise, Yumi recovered quickly. "_Woooww_!" She exclaimed, sitting up with a giggle, "That was a _real _workout!"

"W..._workout_?" Ichigo's jaw dropped in the midst of regaining her energy. "That... was _just_ a workout?"

"Ichigooo!" Turning her head, the redhead saw a disoriented looking girl approaching, her black hair messed up fairly noticeably as she jogged towards them. Stopping and inhaling, she put her hands on her hips and sternly looked at the happy girl. "Why did you run away?" She asked in a demanding voice.

Yumi blinked in confusion, tilting her head. "Uhh?" She then shrugged and gave a sheepish smile, "I dunno. Just felt like it. I _like_ to run! Didn't think you'd _chase_ me though. That was even more fun, thanks!"

"_Just felt like it?" _Ichigo and Kona both cried in disbelief. Yumi just giggled again, rubbing the back of her head with her hand.

Ichigo nearly hollered at the poor girl."That _reaaallly _took a lot out of me! And you - Hold on,"

Ichigo cut herself off, and, more roughly than she'd intended, grabbed ahold of Yumi's arm. For the first time, the girl flinched, but looked more like a curious child. The older girl squinted - where had she seen it? - and then shifted the arm, carefully, so she wouldn't hurt her. A moment of silence passed, and then she let out an '_Ah ha_!' of triumph.

"Kona! Look!" She jerked the arm towards her.

"Ow!" Yumi squealed, her face twisting into an expression of pain.

"Ahah. Sorry," Ichigo said with a sweatdrop, letting her arm go. But Kona had seen it.

"We were right then," She breathed decidedly, nodding. But she wasn't sure what exactly to think about it, herself. Eyeing the short girl, Kona couldn't help but feel that she wouldn't take anything seriously...

"Right about what?" Yumi was up on her feet again, staring both girls in the face. Ichigo paused.

"Er, hi, Yumi. I'm one of Roxi's friends. I'm Ichigo, and this is Kona... we--"

"Right about _what_?" She repeated, rudely interupting Ichigo's attempt at a polite introduction. Ichigo's eye twitched before she put her _happy-happy _smile back on.

"We-ell... You're...a..."

"_TELL MEEE_!" Promptly, Ichigo was tackled to the ground, and found herself bombarded by a frenzy of tickles. She burst out laughing, curling up into a ball and trying fruitlessly to swat Yumi away, who kept poking her mercilessly until she was unable to breath. Kona cleared her throat and stepped forward, trying not to laugh herself.

"_Yumi_, you're a Mew Mew."

"_Mew Mew Mew_?" This caught the girl's attention. She now sat upright, giving Ichigo, who was a doubled over mess, time to catch her breath. Kona nodded, slowly, giving a glance at Ichigo to make sure she was okay.

"Yes... that mark on your elbow. It means you've been injected... _chosen_ for a mission."

"_Ara_?" Blinking, Yumi lifted up her arm, awkwardly tilting her head to see the triple-heart flower design that was imprinted just above her elbow. "Ohhh! I didn't see that before! What does a _Mew Mew Mew _do?"

"Just...Mew Mew," Ichigo murmured, sitting upright. She was clutching her stomach defensively as she tried to regain composure. "Being a Mew means you can transform and that you have powers. You were given those powers and stuff so you can fight aliens, and..."

"_Aliens_?" A pair of red eyes blinked, and then lit up. "Oh! You mean like_ them_?" With a broad smile, she pointed in another direction.

"Wha-" Ichigo turned in the direction Yumi was motioning towards and froze. Two figures stood there, unmoving, watching from a fair distance away.

One of them was Ari.

Nothing moved. Everything was perfectly still. _Who is that...with her? The other one's tall... older looking. She wouldn't attack with a friend or adult around, right...?_ She needed to see what happened. Maybe they would just leave, for now, leave them alone...

"_You_!" Kona cried, breaking the silence. Ichigo nearly toppled over in surprise. The black-haired girl had her jaw clenched tightly, her blue eyes focused angrily over the blue haired figure. Before Ichigo or Yumi could do anything, Kona had taken out her pendant, holding it to her lips. "Mew Mew Powder, Metamorpha-_sis_!"

"Kona, _no_!" Ichigo shouted, jumping up to her feet. If she transformed, their cover would be blown. Yes, Ari was here, but so was a stranger... _Their cover would be blown_! Ichigo felt her heart fall. Things were bad enough... The last thing she needed were hateclubs and fanclubs, and questions, and more problems... Her life was complicated enough! "Kona!"

The girl had already been shrouded in pink light, and once it faded, stood there in her black Mew outfit, eyes narrowed, focused. "Blossom Be- "

"_Stop_!" A pair of hands grabbed at Kona's arm, and she looked over at Ichigo in surprise. Seeing the look of fear on her face, Kona blinked, looking back over at the pair. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what she had done.

Perfect silence again. Slowly, steadily, Ari began approaching, her face dead set in a serious expression. Her companion followed calmly, her overcoat swirling darkly around her. None of the mew-girls moved. Only when they were feet away did Ichigo notice something critical. The overcoat-person was a tall woman, her hair messily in a bun, glasses resting on her nose... _There's no way...Mrs. Kazuhawa!_

But the teacher did not appear confused or even surprised. She wore an expression similar to Ari's, only her lips were crossed with a very faint smirk, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Then it dawned on Ichigo, and she shrunk back in fear_. It can't be..._

"I'm sorry, _I'm sorry_..." The sobs of Kona broke Ichigo from her trance, and she turned to see the older girl staring at herself in horror. What had she done...? In just a few seconds, she had jeapordized everything... possibly ruined everything for them. All because she hadn't taken a moment to think.

"Don't... Kona, it's..." Ichigo was at a loss for words, so she just turned towards the pair approaching. She had no idea what to do at this exact moment. And, even after having a mini-panic and trying to calm down... she knew that all any of them could do right now was wait.

"What's wrong?" For once, Ari wasn't the one who began the taunting. Mrs. Kazuhawa drew her hands from her deep pockets, eyes flickering, tormenting. And still Ichigo was able to do nothing. "You girls look so..._shocked_." Even as she was speaking, the air around them seemed to move, ripple, breath. Their faces, their entire bodies began to blur, as if tiny fragments of appearence were falling away. Just as instantly, it cleared up, leaving the two women standing there. _Aliens_.

Kona and Ichigo had expected that from Ari. But seeing the Middle School Professor suddenly change into a tall, young looking girl caught them off guard. Her glasses were gone, a pair of blue eyes now staring back at them. Long, brown hair fell across her bare shoulders in waves, a few strands of her bangs even touching against her eyelids. A short black skirt wrapped around her legs, a dark blue tube top covering a portion of her upper body. And still that taunting smirk lay on her lips.

"Your friend was a bit _hasty_, Ichigo-neko, I'll agree," Ari grinned, her daggers appearing in her hand, "But at least she's not a little _scaredy-cat_."

At the same time, her alien companion followed, a short, black and blue staff materializing, her hand fitting neatly around it. Ichigo hesistated_. What kind of power has she got..?_

"Ichigo!" A voice buzzed by her ear happily. Ichigo zipped around to see Masha floating there happily.

"Masha! Thank God," She breathed in relief. At least something had gone right. "Did you follow me all the way over here?"

"Helping Ichigo! Helping Ichigo!" Was its cheery reply as it flitted around Ichigo's head. She smiled, momentarily before remembering the situation at hand.

"Masha, go give Yumi her pendant," She said gravely, standing her ground and staring Ari straight in the eye.

A question mark appeared above the fuzzball's head, but once it understood, it regained its artificial expression of cheer and glided over to the short girl, who was watching with utmost curiosity. Then her eyes lit up, visions of a floating pink fuzzball reflected in her reddish eyes."Kyah! What's this _cutie_?" With a wide grin, Yumi made a lunge for it, but Masha eased out of the way, circling around Yumi's head nervously as the girl tried to swat it down. After a few minutes, she tired herself out, and paused, long enough for the pink creature to float up and materialize a golden pendant. Floating back down happily, it set it in Yumi's hand. The girl stared at it smilingly.

"_Ara_? What's this thing?"

"Mew Mew Strawberry, Metamorpha-_sis_!" Ichigo cried out, and in a flash transformed. Yumi watched, mesmerized, as the girls both summoned their weapons, getting into a fighting stance. The '_aliens_' did the same.

"Mew...mew..." She murmured to herself quietly, staring down at her pendant with wide red eyes.

"Ari! How dare you show up here when we have important business!" Shrieked Ichigo, pointing an accusing finger. Ari just smirked, toying with her sais.

"Aww. Not too happy to see me?"

"Cut it out!" Kona snapped angrily, and, clutching her Blossom Bell Bell in hand, positioned it out infront of her. "Ribbon Blossom Shine!" The bell in the center gave a light tinkle, a pink aura of light shining out from it. It seemed to be going directly towards the pair of aliens, but then, at the last minute... they disapeared, resituating themselves at the side without moving a muscle. Kona blinked in confusion. "What the...?"

"Kitten-_two_'s aim isn't so good," Mocked Ari, bouncing on her foot slightly as she took a firm stance with her weapons, "Then again, Hanajima's _'Illusion Staff' _can be tricky. You'll have to watch out, nekos."

"_Illusion_?" Ichigo mouthed to herself. That was all... Illusions? They couldn't really harm her, right? Or, maybe she shouldn't take it so lightly... Her face creased into a frown, but she grasped her Bell, keeping a careful eye on Ari and Hanajima.

"I see a fight coming on," A grin twitched across the paler alien's face, golden eyes glimmering with anticipation, "Good. I do enjoy a good battle." Her knuckles went white as she clutched around the handles of her knives, until they burst into blue flame. "Here I _come_!" She cried out, floating up into the air and taking a dive at Ichigo.

"Back!" She screamed, ducking entirely under the attack, all of Ari completely going over her. Kona jumped in.

"Ribbon Blossom - "

"_STOP_!" Ichigo's voice screamed in her ear, and she halted in her step immediately, nearly dropping her bell.

Turning to the other cat girl in confusion, Kona asked, "What?" Ichigo looked up from her ducked position, puzzled as well.

"I didn't say anythin--" She paused, and then turned towards the other alien floating idly a distance away. Hanajima smiled wryly. _Illusions._

"Don't be distracted, now!" Ari called as she rose up in the air, connecting her two flame-engulfed daggers by the tip. The fire melded together, forming a blue flame at the very tip, and she seemed to balance in the air on one foot as she inhaled and lightly blew on the fire. From that light breath came spiralling blue flame, aimed right towards Ichigo and Kona.

"_Kya_!" Ichigo grabbed the older girl and dove out of the way, just narrowly missing the tunnel of dangerous fire. As Ari seemed to be recharging and preparing for another shot, the pink cat girl turned towards Yumi, who was fiddling around with her pendant mindlessly. "Yumi! You _have_ to transform! Please!"

"Oh! I figured out how!" She announced proudly, waving the object around, "Let's see... Mew... Myuuh... Metata_mora_... Aahh! I forgot a_gain_!" She smiled sheepishly.

Ichigo sweatdropped and shouted desperatly, "Please,_ hurry_!" And barely dodged another attack, a spark from it singing part of her dress.

Nodding, Yumi opened her mouth again. It twisted, gave a little twitch, and she burst out laughing, nearly falling over. It seemed like she was unable to catch her breath, laughing so hard, clutching her stomach and holding the pendant in a shaky hand. In the middle of a fierce giggle, she managed to call out, "Mew Mew Framboise! Metamorpha-_sis_!" and continued laughing. Even as she did, however, light shone from the gold coloured object, wrapping around her body and forming her red, sleekuniform. A pair of tiny ears and bushy horse tail appeared on her as the light faded away, and she stood there, beaming. "Whee! I did it!"

"Good!" Ichigo looked fearfully at Ari, getting ready for her own attack, "Now get your weapon and _help us_!"

"Right!" Taking a deep breath, Mew Yumi clasped her gloved hands together, "Raspberry Bell!" In another flash of light, a small, pink bracelet sized weapon appeared in between her hands. Ribbons flowed neatly from the sides, and situated on the bottom center was a larger bronze bell. Grinning, she held it out, ringing it from side to side. "Ribbon Raspberry _Dazzle_!" The words flowed from her mouth like water, just as the ones before. It was strange, as if she were controlled by some warm force inside of her... As Yumi spoke, she instinctively gave the bell one last swing, and a light full of visible pink specks burst forth, intercepting an attack from Ari. The blue haired alien looked alarmed, but quickly replaced that with a devious frown.

Kona sighed in relief, and held her bell out, Ichigo doing the same. "Attack... _combine our powers_!" The black haired Mew said firmly as Yumi moved to join them, holding her wrist sized weapon out with one hand as well. Ari gritted her teeth and touched her sais together again, inhaling for a powerful attack.

"_Ribbon_!" All three girls yelled together, and split off to their individual attacks.

"Blossom _Shine_!"

"Raspberry _Dazzle_!"

"Strawberry _Check_!" The lights from each weapon merged together into a powerful beam of sparkled energy, enveloping both Hanajima and Ari so tightly they were unable to move.

"W-_Wuaaaaah_!" Ari screamed as pain coarsed through her rapidly, nearly dropping her daggers as she clutched painfully at her chest. Hanajima looked stunned as the light faded, and weary, as if ready to collapse. Ari, on the other hand, looked like she had endured being hit by a train - panting, on her knees, her entire body trembling. Her eyes burned with anger as she faced Ichigo, staring her straight in the face. Ichigo winced.

"I'm _not_ finished!" The blue haired alien yelled in fury, trying to get up to her feet. Hanajima's hand lightly touched her shoulder.

"Yes. You are," She said softly, and turned to face the girls as the two dissolved into the air.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ichigo ran a hand through her hair and transformed back to normal. She felt sore all over. "Well..." Her amber eyes trailed over to the still transformed Yumi, who was busy chasing Masha around in circles, "At least we found the third one."

"Yeah," Kona agreed, her costume fading back to normal as she stepped beside Ichigo to watch, "Two more to go, I guess."

"Yeah," She said with a nod, and fell silent. A moment later, Yumi skipped over, holding the struggling pink fuzzball tightly as she detransformed.

"So! Where're we gonna go now?" She piped excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Ichigo couldn't help but smile at her cheery disposition.

"Ah, the cafe. I'm sure Shirogane will want to meet you... Being a new member of Tokyo Mew Mew, and all."

"Tokyo Mew Mew!" Yumi threw her arms up in the air, lightly tossing Masha over as she did so, "Don't worry, I'll help ya both beat those aliens. They don't stand a chance!" She pumped her arm into the air excitedly. There was a little pink-creature squeal from behind as it bounced.

"Yeah," Ichigo said, exchanging smiles with Kona, "Not a chance. Come on, let's go."

"Tokyo Mew Mew! Tokyo _Mew Mew_!" Yumi chanted happily as she followed the two older girls across the field, Masha following cautiously behind. "Yeaah! We'll save the day! For sure!"

Ichigo giggled. "For sure."

---

_Next Chapter:_

_Not everyone wants to save the world. Is it so wrong to just want things to stay the way they are? Ichigo, Kona and Yumi have to team up to find the rest of the team, which is hard enough. What happens when someone refuses to be a part of something they never bargained for?_


	6. Reluctance

**xuri: **Teehee. I like the number 6. xD Anyways, I was thinking of putting the pictures of Kona and Yumi up on my profile, but I looked at them and they suck horribly. If anyone wants to see pictures, please let me know and I'll re-draw them, because I hopefully suck less now than I did when I first sketched these characters out. So drop me a note in a review or something and I'll get to it! (Because I have a lot of time. So, seriously, I might just end up doing them anyways) On that note, reviews equal love. You want love. I want love. Love equals new chapter. So review!

_BridgitKiido_: Coolios. If you do get around to reading them, see if you can pick up the tiny changes I've made in the chapters here and chapters there. Which isn't much. I think the biggest one I've made so far is from changing Yumi's Mew name from Mew Yumi to Mew Framboise. Oh, and the dialogue thingie I added at the end of this chapter. Wish I could take credit for the horse-mew idea, because it is a cute one. -nod- Thanks for the review!

Yay on with chappie six, yo.

-----

**Blend (chapter six)**

**Reluctance**

"Yumi! Yumi, _please_ put that down!"

"_YUMI!" Crash! _Kona let out a groan, her head drooping into her palm. With a sigh, she added to Ichigo, "I'll get the broom..." And wandered off, muttering to herself. Ichigo chuckled nervously.

"Heh... She reminds me of Pudding..." Shaking her head, Ichigo went back to work, stepping over the broken dishes that Yumi was hurriedly trying to gather up. This busy life, this constant hectic schedule... how did she _ever _go without it? It just fit her so well now. Ichigo didn't ever want to have to let it go away. Normal life was just too... normal for her. With a warm smile, she turned to the customers who were leaving through the door, chatting happily. "Thanks for coming to Cafe Mew Mew!" She said cheeril, and then turned around to go clean the table.

The bell gave a light and cheery tinkle as the door opened again, and Ichigo quickly pulled the cloth away to greet the new customers. "Welcome to Cafe Mew Mew!" She chided, tilting her red-covered-head to the side. Kona hurriedly guided the broken glass away from the tables, commanding Yumi to go and get an empty bucket. She turned around, though, just long enough to see the customers walk in.

"Thanks," The brown-ponytail girl said sweetly, nodding at the boy beside her. Ichigo wandered over to Kona as Yumi happily skipped off with a bucket in hand to lead them to their table.

"They're here a lot," Ichigo commented with a smile, watching as Yumi excitedly showed them their table and began listing off the pastry specials, "Those two. What a cute couple - I wish Aoyama-kun had time to bring me out to adorable places like this..."

"Hm? Oh, Aoyama-kun, right," Kona just acknowledged absently. She had never met the guy, but Ichigo rambled on about him enough for her to know he was probably her boyfriend... or _something. _While it was kind of cute, the high school girl found it vaguely annoying and repetitive. Half the time, she wondered if she was just obsessing over a break up, considering she'd never actually seen the two together, but never had the courage to ask. Yumi zoomed by, gabbing on about strawberry chocolate cheesecake.

Ichigo sighed, still watching the unknowing couple as they talked happily, inaudible to the two waitresses. "Hmmn. Do you think that Aoyama-kun's avoiding me on _purpose_...? Maybe I've been too clingy... That must be it. _Stupid Ichigo_. I drove the perfect guy away because I _love _him too much!" She wailed, clutching her face in her hands.

Ryou cleared his throat.

Kona looked up, boredly, and then set the broom aside, stalking off to get the bucket from Yumi so she could finish cleaning up the broken porcelain. Looking up in alarm, Ichigo's face reflected surprise, but that faded quickly into a glare.

"_Shirogane_! What do you want?" She huffed, folding her arms over her chest, "Can't you see I'm not in the mood for your stupid chores?"

"Yes, I'm sure wallowing in self pity is _very _time consuming, Strawberry," He said sarcastically, shrugging, "But I need to talk to you and the other two in the basement now."

Ichigo blinked. "But... the customers..."

"They're fine. This is urgent." Not saying another word, Ryou turned back around, stepping casually towards the basement door. He obviously expected Ichigo to follow, but she just stood there. Then, looking helplessly at the rest of the cafe - she didn't want to leave all this and come back in a bad mood - she sighed and slunked towards the kitchen to fetch Kona and Yumi.

--

"Fool!" Ari boomed, knocking some unimportant object carelessly off the desk. She was throwing something of a tantrum at that moment. A _bad_ one. Though it was hard to take her angry-face seriously, as it, just like the rest of her, was covered in bandages. _Side effects - losing most healing abilities_. "I had them! Did you see how weak Ichigo looked! If you hadn't _wimped_ out on me and dragged me back like you did... She'd be _done _by now!" _Side effects - losing most common sense._

"Weren't you paying any attention?" Hanajima seethed in return, leaning coolly up against a wall, "Kitten and her friends were only getting stronger. And you... you were _beaten. _There's no denying that, Ari. One more hit, and _you_ would have been done. You need to learn when it's time to quit."

"I'll _quit_," Her voice lowered angrily, eyes blazing, "when neko-girl is destroyed. Then, and only then. We'll never accomplish anything if you keep dragging me out of battles because I get one measly scratch!"

"One?" Snickering, Hana raised an eyebrow, her eyes focused on the many bandaids coating her face and arms. Ari sneered and promptly pushed her sleeves down to hide them.

"I told you not to interfere."

"I wasn't interfering. I was helping. Do you know what that means, Ari? To _help_ someone?"

"I don't need any help!" Snapped Ari, flipping her hair haughtily over her shoulder. She mumbled, "I've never needed any help. I should have just come here on my own..."

Giving an exasperated sigh, Hanajima straightened up, folding her arms across her chest. "You know, if you don't smarten up soon, we'll need to include _her_ in all this..."

Ari snorted. "Well, we won't _need_ to then, will we?" Pushing her hair from her face, she started walking towards the door, digging her bandaged hands into her pockets. Her dark blue hair swayed lightly with every step, in an almost unreal way, her face shadowed in anger. Eyes shining with a promise of revenge.

"Next time, Hanajima. Next time will be the _last _time."

--

Ichigo groaned. "Can we just get this over with?"

"It's called '_patience_', Ichigo," Ryou shook his head, and then looked up to once again confirm that Kona and Yumi were in the room, and the door was locked. Keiichiro was sitting at one of the desks, prepping a disk of some sort. "Come with me."

Obediently (if a bit reluctantly on Ichigo's part), the girls followed Ryou over to one of the computers, where he easily projected something onto the screen. Four different pictures appeared, including the corresponding DNA match ups. Kona instantly recognized two of them; one was her, matched with the DNA of a black panther; the other was the small-figured Yumi, blended with a horse. The two other figures were fuzzy, but she was able to identify them right away.

"The other two," She said out loud, squinting at the picture, "Are fused with a _Fox_, and a _Panda Bear_."

"Yes," Ryou said, nodding calmly, "If that helps any."

"Help with_ what_?" Ichigo eyed him suspiciously, leaning forward as if to catch a look of guilt on his face.

He didn't have one. "To find the other Mews."

Ichigo growled impatiently. "We're already doing that, Shirogane!"

"Well, you're not going fast enough."

"_What did you just say_!" Kona and Yumi rushed forward to restrain Ichigo from ramming into Ryou and trying to beat him. They both knew how well something like _that _would turn out.

He held up two fingers, glancing over at Keiichiro blankly before turning back to them, completely ignoring the little struggle going on. "Masha's recording of the event further proved that there is more than _one_ alien here. At the moment, _two_ have appeared. Did any of you expect that?"

They were silent. Ichigo had stopped squirming, but her face was drawn into a frown.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. If you didn't see that coming, how are we supposed to know that there aren't _hundreds_ here?"

Yumi raised her hand. "Ara... I know! I know! We _don't_!" She chirped proudly, and looked over at Ichigo for approval. The red head's eye was twitching.

"Uh, right." Ryou sweatdropped, raising an eyebrow, and turning back to look at the screen. "You need to do _everything possible _to find the other two. Once all of you are together, you can combine your powers most effectively to keep the aliens at bay, and then eventually destroy or convince them to go back."

"But - " Kona cut in this time, her voice a little timid in the blonde's presence, " - What are we supposed to do? I mean, we got lucky with Yumi at the track meet, and I was a complete coincidence. Neither of us even knew we had these powers until Ichigo found us. We can't keep relying on fate to bring us together."

"Exactly." Pressing a button, the projection on the screen flickered off, leaving the room almost completely dark again. "Instead, you're all going to actually _search_. Don't look at me like that, Ichigo, you still have to go." Ichigo just mumbled to herself angrily, turning away and sulking to herself while the other two girls stayed at attention.

"So... what?" Kona seemed to be doing most of the inquiring here. Yumi was busy staring at the gadgets in the room, and Ichigo was off somewhere feeling sorry for herself. "We check random people for marks, and if they have them, announce that they're Mews?"

Ryou shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."

"And that's not going to creep people out?"

"Well, you should be able to work out a system. Make it seem less suspicious or random than it really is. I'm sure you can come up with something." He nodded trustingly, causing Kona's cheeks to tinge slightly.

"_Konaaa!" _Yumi cried and nearly pounced on the girl, giggling madly. "Ara, Keiichiro's ponytail looks so fun to pull, don't you think? 'Course, I'm restraining myself, because I don't want him to be angry. Even though he'd never be able to catch me." She beamed happily, nodding. Ichigo chose this moment to appear again, looking fairly curious.

"What's this about random searches?"

--

In a few more minutes, the girls had been herded back upstairs into the cafe, where customers were frantically searching for empty tables and waitresses to take their order. "Kya! The cafe is _falling apart _without us!" Ichigo whimpered, and then mumbled something incoherent about how this was all Shirogane's fault.

Kona nodded, not in complete agreement, but she knew Ichigo had a point. At least, part of one. "Getting the customers in order would be the top priority. And," She added, holding up a thoughtful finger, "You might as well check around for marks, too. Hit two birds with one stone."

"Two birds! Two birds!" Yumi chirped, and immediately spun around, her dark burgundy uniform bouncing around her as she ran to take some orders. There was further grumbling from Ichigo, but she regained a cheery exterior and went to greet some lost-looking customers. Sighing, Kona headed towards the kitchen to pick up some cakes and deliver them to the appropriate tables.

"Welcome to Cafe Mew Mew! Would you happen to have any strange marks on your body?" Ichigo politely asked a group of people. They stared at her strangely, and then exchanged glances before laughing. Disheartened, the redhead sighed and directed them to their table.

Kona wasn't having too much luck, either, though her story was much more convincing. "We've been having some trouble with the paint drying lately. Have any of you found any marks suddenly that may be a cause of a spontaneous melt?" Most of the customers were willing to check their arms and legs and such, but were unable to find anything unusual. Trying not to let it get her down, she went on to pick up a parfait order.

And then, Yumi was... "Random property search! Roll up your sleeves and pantlegs!" She announced happily from table to table. Most people just stared at her funny until she left them alone to go cheer along some other customers.

After about 15 minutes, they gathered back in the kitchen to compare results. All of them had the same: nothing. They'd checked pretty much every table, and came up empty handed. Not that they_ 100 percent _expected to find a Mew convieniently seated at one of their tables, willing to show them a mark... It just would have been so much easier. Now they had no idea where to look.

"Wah, this is so frustrating..." Ichigo whined, leaning her head against a wall. Her dress was crooked and her hair was mussed. Kona thought she looked like some kid had

just pushed her over.

"I know what you mean," She agreed with a solemn nod, "Anyone could be carrying that DNA... It's like finding a needle in a haystack."

"Ara... What about _them_?" Yumi poked her head out the kitchen door, not following the conversation at all. Kona and Ichigo turned to see she was pointing at the couple, still seated at their table, talking contently. "I didn't check _them_."

Kona shook her head, shrugging. "Neither did I."

Seeing both girls suddenly looking towards her expectantly, Ichigo pouted, "Come on. Can't we just stop _now_? I'm tired, and we've humiliated ourselves enough, well _I_ have anyways, and what are the chances --_ owowow_," She cried as the two dragged her out of the kitchen and to the aforementioned table anyways.

The couple didn't seem to notice the three at first, standing there, waiting quietly by their table. The ponytail girl was chatting excitedly, about some friend doing something amazing, her face lit up with happiness. The boy sitting across from her listened, his soft blue eyes focused on her attentively. Even when Ichigo fidgetted in place, they were too absorbed in conversation to even glance over. Finally, Kona cleared her throat, grabbing their attention.

"Gah." Ichigo felt a shiver as they looked up. The look of happiness sprawled on both of their faces suddenly turned dark, cold, as they turned towards them. Almost as if to say '_how dare you interrupt_?'. She ducked behind Kona, who seemed mildly unaffected by all this.

"Sorry," She bowed her head politely towards the boy, and paused, looking over to the girl, "Could I speak with you for a moment?"

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Sitting up straight, the girl looked Kona in the eye, a courteous tone in her voice.

"Er, no, you don't," Kona shook her head, "I just wanted to ask you something." She eyed the boy. "In private."

He glared icily back at her, but the girl at the table stood up with a sigh, nodding apoligetically to him. "Fine then. Please make it quick."

With Ichigo following cautiously behind, and Yumi rushing all over the place, Kona led her over to an empty part of the cafe. "Er... sorry, I'm Kona... and this-"

"Can you just get to the point?" She folded her arms impatiently, her eyes watching the three girls skeptically. Kona swallowed, having half expected her to introduce herself back.

"Oh. Of course," Nodding, she took a deep breath, "We're doing a bit of an... investigation. Would you happen to have any strange marks on your body? Having appeared suddenly, I mean."

Odd look. That was what they got. The stranger girl's face took a drastic change, her eyes narrowing, eyebrows raising, lips pursing shut tightly. "_Marks_?" She treated the word as if it were a joke. "I have no idea what you're-"

"Here, let _us_ look!" Before anyone could stop her, Yumi was up in her face, lifting her arms and checking various places for marks, twisting to this side and that, mumbling all the while to herself as she suddenly grabbed the girl's leg to check it.

"_Oi_, what are you --!" In alarm, she hopped on one foot, nearly falling over. Ichigo hurriedly caught her, but was unable to keep her own balance, and fell with a smash to the floor. Just before the brown-ponytail girl could fall herself, Kona grabbed her arm and pulled her upright.

"Ah, I'm so sorry -"

"What are you people _doing_?" She looked frightened now, yanking herself away from Yumi as she rubbed her wrists defensively, keeping a cautious eye on the three girls in case they tried to attack her again. "_Look_, I don't _have _any marks. None. Can I go back now?"

They were silent. Even Ichigo, who was sitting on the floor, looked down quietly. Yumi twiddled her thumbs. Kona kind of shuffled in place, before murmuring, "Yeah. That's all."

"Okay." Staring at them suspisciously through hazel eyes, she took a step back, and turned back around to walk back to the table. They couldn't help but notice how her face suddenly lit up when she went back over to her boyfriend.

For a bit, they all just stood there. Then, Kona sighed. "Well, _that _was a disaster." Yumi silently agreed, and then switched back to her cheery-cheer mood.

Ichigo was silent, oddly enough, staring absently out the window. Neither of them noticed, though, and were discussing getting back to work ("Ara, are you sure you checked everyone? I can check for more marks! It's easy-peasy, I'll even check some people twice just to make sure - !" "You'll scare the customers more than you already have, Yumi..."), but a strange and curious look crossed her face.

"Be right back," She muttered to herself and walked to the door. Neither of the other two noticed.

_I could have sworn..._ Furrowing her brow, Ichigo stepped out the door and looked left and right. Nobody. _Nothing. _Sighing, she rubbed her forehead with a hand. "I guess I need fresh air more than I know..." Scooting over to the edge of the porch, she rested her chin on her knees and stared ahead blankly. The wind ruffled her hair a little bit. _Aoyama-kun... _Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the last time they'd went out together. So long ago. Stupid Ichigo - just because the Mew project was kicking back into gear didn't mean that Masaya would suddenly pay unyielding attention to her again. She figured it was still selfish - she loved him so much, and she knew she could never really be angry with him. He was just busy. _Just like everyone else._

Breathing a light sigh, she listened to her surroundings. Birds... wind... leaves... Her ears perked lightly. Footsteps? Her eyes flashed open again, but she saw no one there. Now, though, she heard them clearly_. Step, step. Step._ Standing to her feet, she edged along to glance around the corner curiously. Blue hair just narrowly floated past.

Ducking back against a wall, Ichigo could feel her heart beating wildly. Ari. Ari. Why was she popping up _everywhere_? Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Ari wouldn't get the jump on her this time. No, she'd find her first.

Eyes flitting open again, she quietly dashed around the corner, pressing her back up against the wall. Her cat senses were kicking in - keen, sharp, alert. She could pick up the footsteps, meandering around the back of the Cafe. Swallowing, Ichigo took off again, bounding through the grass in her red cafe uniform without so much as a sound.

And there she was. Standing in her human form, hands in her pockets, staring absently - coldly? - up at the roof, her eyes glazed over. Biting her lip, Ichigo peered over, trying to figure out what she was staring at. Was she looking for something? What about --

Just as she was about to edge closer, her foot caught on a tangled plant and sent her flying to the ground. Luckily, she was able to pad her fall with her arms, but not without making a little '_eep_' along the way.

_Oops_. Ari started, her head snapping over in the direction of the sound. Her look of surprise dissolved into a scowl, then a faint smirk. "Ichigo-neko," She said softly, slyly.

Still trying to sort her mind out, Ichigo stumbled back to her feet and held her fists up defensively. "Ari! What are you doing here?" She accused, eyes narrowing.

The blue haired alien tilted her head, eyes glaring off to the side. As if looking for any by-standers. "What does it look like? Taking a walk. What a _nice_ cafe you work at, neko."

A knot formed in Ichigo's throat. The alien knew where she worked. _Great_. "Leave, _now_!" And, not about to allow a surprise attack, the strawberry girl called out, "Mew Mew Strawberry! Metamorpha-_sis_!"

Light swallowed her, sparkles engulfed her in her bright pink Mew costume, hair falling around her face in light strands. Her pink eyes opened furiously, and she struck a pose, eyes never leaving Ari for a second. Blue haired girl just laughed.

"So eager for a fight? So be it," Holding her hand out, palm upwards, a light emitted from it, breaking away her appearence like glass to show her true alien form. A grin twitched on to her lips. That was when Ichigo realized the full danger of the situation.

_Alone._ She froze to the spot. Ari wouldn't have been able to attack her if she'd just went back into the cafe... She could have gotten the other girls. With Ari alone, they'd be able to take her down, no problem. But... Looking down at her gloved hands, Ichigo knew her mistake. Ryou had created an entire project, after all, so she wouldn't have to fight alone. But here she was - _alone_.

_Baka!_ Mentally screaming at herself, she didn't see Ari whipping towards her. She didn't feel the cold metal slice through her skin. Only as warm blood trickled down her arm did she realize what had so quickly happened.

"_Augh_!" She cried out, clutching her arm, the blood seeping through her gloves. Not only was the cut deep, but she felt the firey energy blazing through her blood, bones, weakening her to the point of jelly-legs. Biting her lip as hard as she could, she tried to keep her vision from going blurry... but suddenly felt light headed. "Strawberry...bel..." Everything wavered around her, and she panted heavily for breath. The scene spun circles around her, around and around, until she felt the ground giving out beneath her. _No... no, I can't faint! Ari...she'll...baka Ichigo!_

"_ICHIGO_!" There was a flash of light before her unsteady eyes, an arm reached over to catch her before she could hit the ground. Steadying herself to her feet, Ichigo managed to catch her breath, the wound's pain fading significantly. Her vision focused to see Kona and Yumi, wielding weapons in mew form.

"Ah! You guys!" She cried in relief, wincing at her wound.

"We've got your back!" Kona assured with a wink, and then held her bell out. "Ribbon Blossom_ Shine!"_

Ari grimaced, preparing her flame spiral attack as she easily dodged Kona's. Yumi got into the fray immediatly, swinging her small bell excitedly.

"Ribbon Raspberry _Dazzle_!"

Kona tried again. "Ribbon Blossom _Shine_!"

Ichigo straightened up, becoming much sturdier and balanced again. She summoned her Strawberry Bell, and prepared for an attack.

_I'm not alone anymore._

"Ribbon Strawberry _Check_!"

--

_Why am I here?_

In a daze, Kikyo walked along the side of the Cafe, her long brown ponytail swaying from side to side. _It must be those weird girls. Why were they asking me about a mark? _Koji had even commented on how strange that was - before they'd resumed their conversation, that is. And it had been going just fine, just like all the other days they came to the Cafe together just to spend time together. And then, all of a sudden, those girls - only two of them, the third seemed to have disapeared - suddenly ran out of the cafe. Even though they had just ordered. What kind of customer service was _that?_

_Yes, that's why I'm out here, _She convinced herself. To complain. To demand why they couldn't do whatever it was they were doing on their own time, instead of holding up paying customers. But her feet seemed to move by some unknown force, drawing her along the Cafe wall. She'd told Koji to wait for her return. Kikyo hoped he would. Otherwise, she'd be even more angry with those... _people_.

Turning the corner in a bit of a daze, she felt her foot lurch against the ground, toe nearly snapping against the pressure of the dirt. An icy feeling swept through her blood, eyes widening at the sight. Somehow, her first impression of a bunch of anthro girls shooting beams of energy at some floating person wasn't that it was _strange_. No, right away, she was _frightened. _As if her lungs suddenly kicked in, she inhaled, gasping, before throwing her hand over her mouth, unable to move.

_What is this...?_ Her fingers twitched in alarm. It was then she recognized the '_anthro girls'_; the waitresses. Well, sort of. The _Pink _one was more pink that she remembered. The _Black-and-Pink_ girl looked the same, though she suddenly had these ears and a tail... and the _Red_ one was unmistakably the one who had tried to attack her, looking for a mark of some sort. How they suddenly looked like this, she had no idea. And she wasn't sure she wanted to.

Finally finding the feeling in her legs again, Kikyo stepped back, wanting to get away from here more than anything. Then something nudged on the back of her foot, nearly causing her to trip. "_Itai...!" _Falling back against the outside Cafe wall, she looked down to see a little pink cell phone lying on the ground. Bending over to pick it up, she figured it must belong to one of the waitresses, and was probably dropped. Her mind drifted back to the scene she'd just seen, and her gaze hooked itself to the cell phone,

her finger shaking uncontrollably against the fuzzy pink keychain that dangled from it.

"_Ichigo_! Ichigo!" Nearly screaming as the cellphone '_poofed_', it clattered back to the ground, and she stared wide eyed at a pink fuzzball now floating cheerily infront of her eyes. It's cheer faded slightly, and a question mark appeared above its head as it processed her appearence. "_Not Ichigo_. Masha is Ichigo's! Masha is Ichigo's!" It cried, and began to swirl around her head, shouting out and making noise.

Suddenly afraid that all those _'freaks' _might hear, she scrambled up and grabbed it, trying to cover its... mouth. If it had one. But she just squeezed it as tightly as possible, not wanting to get involved in this. _Oh my god, please, please, don't let them hear me..._

To her relief, no one came. But while she wasn't paying attention, Masha suddenly focused on Kikyo again, data scans running through its wide eyes. Then, with a perky chirp, it swayed its tail and wriggled from her grasp. "Masha knows! Masha will help!" It pleasantly chanted as it floated towards the back of the cafe. Kikyo's eyes widened.

"No! _Come back_!" She hissed, stumbling after it, swinging her arms wildly in an attempt to grab it. Then, being just feet away from the action, she jumped in a panic, hands clamping over its tail and yanking it to the ground.

"Wuah! _Wuah!" _It struggled, and, as she reached to shut it up, Masha opened its mouth and tossed to the side a bit, a dazzling pendant appearing in its place. It flew back into the air, trying to drag Kikyo with it, but she let out a cry and dove at it again, her hand brushing against the pendant.

Then, suddenly, in that one second, her fingers seemed to prickle. Just a light brush, a touch, but some kind of inexplainable power coarsed through her, warming her body and filling her to the top. Before she knew it, words were softly spilling from her mouth, flowing from her lips smooth and naturally. "Mew Mew Kitsune! Metamorpha-_sis_!"

_What? What did I just say?_ Her mind whirled as ribbons of light wrapped around her, blinding her temporarily, as she felt her body changing. Feet becoming lighter. Sight becoming more keen. It was almost painful, but it seemed to ease by, as if it were completely natural. The next thing she knew, Kikyo stood there, wearing a strange uniform, a fox tail swaying behind her and a pair of ears protruding neatly from her head.

_What just happened?_

--

"_AUUUGH_!"

Ichigo screamed as she was thrown up against a wall, her bell nearly slipping from her hands. Landing in a heap on the ground, she gasped for air, screeching and rolling out of the way as a spiral of fire shot towards her, scorching part of her tail's ribbon.

Even Yumi and Kona were having difficulty; Ari may have been on her own, but she was sure packing a punch. The battle was dead even, though; the alien seemed to be tiring out, herself - every once and a while, she'd bend over and inhale, as if to regain her strength.

"Nekos..." She spat, giving a warped smirk, "You just won't give up, will you?"

Yumi raised her hand. "I'm not a neko -_ waah_!" A wave of flame hurled towards her, and she dashed out of the way, ringing her Raspberry Bell along in Ari's direction. "Raspberry_ Dazzle!" _She chimed, and a bright flash of sparkles shot to Ari. The alien cried out in agony, losing her float height significantly, obviously very weak. Kona took the opportunity right away.

"Ribbon Blossom ---"

Lights flashed all around her, in her head, in front of her eyes, and she lost her balance, falling to her side and crying out. When her vision cleared again, she realized, as did Yumi and Ichigo, what was causing this... and how much trouble they were in _because_ of it.

"Hanajima!" Ari snapped, her voice wispier than before, "Where'd you--"

"You were gone for a long time," She answered plainly, and then held her staff out. Ichigo stumbled back up to her feet, glaring hard in their direction, her heart shaped weapon trembling in her hands. "Looks like you did alright though, Ari. I can take it from here."

Before Ari could even protest, the brunette alien grasped her Illusion Staff with both hands, aiming it dead on towards Kona. "Fire!" She summoned, and a great ball of flame appeared.

Ichigo was frightened at first, and then she remembered. "Kona, don't let her fool you! It's just an illusion!" She cried, and Kona braced herself for this. The flame blasted towards her in a frightful quantity, growing closer, closer... engulfing and scorching Kona's body once it reached her, the girl disapearing in the inferno, crying out in burning pain as the flames ate her alive.

"_KONA_!" Ichigo screamed, tears sprinkling from her eyes as she rushed forward. Then, in a blink, the flame disapeared, leaving Kona standing there, equally as confused. _What...? _"Oof!"

Having just been roughly elbowed in the back, Ichigo collapsed to the ground, Ari holding her in a tight unrelenting grip. "Foolish," Was all she said, and, with the dagger she held in her free hand, allowed it to burst into real flame, drawing the blade harmlessly along the cat girl's back. Though '_harmlessly' _didn't necessarily mean '_painlessly_'.

"_Kyaah!" _Ichigo cried, thrashing as it felt like her skin was burning. All over, burning, burning, hurting... She sobbed into the ground, too weak to even fight back. Kona and Yumi were being detained by Hanajima, who was throwing panicking illusions at them, distracting and then physically attacking them.

"_No!"_

Quite an unfamiliar voice. Ari and Hanajima were the first to look up, then the Mews. To see a tall girl standing there, with ponytail-brown hair and fox ears and tail, a battle costume, a glowing mark on her right temple.

"_Y-you_!" Ichigo cried in bewildering disbelief, and suddenly it turned to joy. A mew. The _third new Mew_! She'd found them. She'd found them, instead of them finding her. The girl from the cafe, the one with the cold boy, had figured out she was a Mew all on her own, come to _save them_...

They misunderstood her use of the word '_no'_. Kikyo looked down at herself in horror - the ears, the tail, the costume. She was one of them. Even if she didn't know who they were, now she would. Now her life would be different. But she didn't want that - Kikyo just wanted her normal life! '_No_!' She had cried in terror, in refusal to believe, not realizing how tangled she would become in this '_new life'_.

And yet everyone still stared in wonder. It must have taken several minutes for them to be drawn back to the reality of the situation, engage once more in battle, though still pieces of their mind were with the strange girl who had just appeared. Ichigo was able to break free of Ari's grasp in this time, aim her bell for another attack.

"Ribbon Strawberry _Check!"_

"Ribbon Blossom _Shine_!"

Both attacked each alien; Ichigo's knocking Ari briefly to the side, Kona's leaving Hanajima temporarily stunned where she floated. And yet they still did not have the edge. Only as Ari came in for another attack and narrowly missed, did Ichigo notice the new Mew was simply standing there. She assumed it was because she didn't know what to do.

"Listen to the words your heart tells you!" She cried to the girl, who just stared blankly at her. Ichigo shireked and leapt over a diving Ari.

Her_ heart_? Kikyo heard them. Loud and clear. But she restrained herself this time; wouldn't allow them to be said. This had gone far enough already. No more. She had already jeopordized her normal life to this point. No. _No more_. Kikyo would not ruin her perfect life for something as freakish as this.

"Waaah!" Yumi cried, throwing her hands over her ears as an ear-splitting sound rang through her head. Kona was already in a heap, gasping, her eyes glazed as she fought whatever illusion was facing her. And Ichigo... Ichigo hardly stood a chance in the state she was in. And yet Kikyo continued standing there, her feet still glued to the ground. _Control, control..._

"Kikyo?"

Her eyes widened and her head snapped around to see the black haired boy walking up behind her, staring oddly. Kikyo paled. _No... he can't see me like this...!_ Promptly, she hid her face from Koji, trying to sidestep out of sight. Maybe then he'd go back to the cafe. Back where he couldn't see her... not like she was, not like this freak...

"Kikyo, wh-_huaaaah!"_

Kikyo's eyes flashed open to see Ari ramming him in the gut with her arms, knocking Koji to the ground. "Nosy prat," She murmured, and carelessly set her sais aflame, aiming to slash at him before he interfered any further.

Horror overtook the fox girl. "Koji! _No!" _She screamed loudly, tears subconsiously filling her eyes. She had to protect him - she had to! "Fox Charm!" She sobbed, letting the words come again. Even if it made her something she didn't want to be... Kikyo could _not _allow Koji to be hurt. As if she'd forgotten all about the girl, Ari turned towards her curiously, delaying her attack on the normal boy.

The weapon that appeared in Mew Kitsune's hands was of regular size, a half ring with curled tips and a short staff running through the middle, the heart situated in the center glowing fiercely. Tears glimmering in her eyes, she gripped it in both hands, aiming for the offending alien. "Ribbon Kahidra _Blast!" _Crying out, she felt the energy burst from the end of her weapon, sending her back a step as it raced towards Ari.

"Gwah!" Her blue hair flared about as she was knocked against the ground, rolling into a heap. Kikyo rushed over to Koji immediatly, putting her hand on his forehead. Still warm. He was unconsious, though unharmed. Sighing in relief, she lowered her forehead to his, whispering a word of comfort before standing to her feet again, facing the aliens again. Now her _enemies_.

"Ribbon Kahidra _Blast_!" She aimed for an attack again, and was surprised to hear the other three girls backing her up.

"Blossom_ Shine_!"

"Raspberry _Dazzle_!"

"Strawberry _Check_!"

All merged into one bright light, swarming around the two aliens. By the time it was gone, they'd both disappeared... Even though they knew they'd just fled on their own. Simultaneously, they all collapsed to their feet, all but Kikyo detransforming back into their cafe uniforms. Kona immediatly rushed over to Ichigo, making sure that her wounds weren't worsening, and then getting Yumi to help her come up with some way to get her back in the cafe without customers noticing her cuts.

Kikyo just sat there, quietly, staring hard at the weapon clutched beneath her hands. Koji was alright. She was so glad he was alright. But... her hands balled into fists. This wasn't fair. She didn't want this. She did want these powers, or have to do anything other than normal. Her life was fine the way it was. Why did it have to turn upside down like this?

While Kona and Yumi devised a sneaky-plan, Ichigo noticed this. The tall girl, on her knees, hazel eyes nearly glimmering with tears. Ichigo had seen the boy that had been with her in the cafe attacked. That was the only time she actually pulled out her weapon, made an effort to fight back. It only occured to the red head now that she may have transformed by_ mistake_... and then figuring out she didn't want to. Slowly, ignoring the pain of her cuts, Ichigo made her way over and knelt next to her. Kikyo took no notice - or, she made an effort not to. That much was obvious.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo said softly, looking down at the ground herself. It was always hard, being injected with the Wild Cat DNA. But she seemed to accept it so easily... Nothing like what this new girl seemed to be struggling with. Even Zakuro dealt with it well, even though she was reluctant to team up. She couldn't possibly understand. So, all Ichigo was able to say was, "I'm so sorry..."

"Like you'd know," She said in a muffled voice, burying her face into her arms. Ichigo lowered her eyes.

"I do. But... not much," How could she, when this was the lifestyle she had come to love? But there was something about being randomly picked for a project, and then forced against your will to save the world... All because you're '_chosen_'. Ichigo agreed with Ryou that she couldn't fight the aliens on her own - but selecting a randomized group of girls and forcing this fate on to them was something even she would dread. It was hardly fair for this fate to be shoved on _them_.

There was no reply on the other end. For a long while, it was completely silent, save for the chatter in the background from the other two. Ichigo blinked and softly tilted her head, trying to see the girl's hidden face. "I just want it to be normal," She choked from beneath her arms finally, a fox ear twitching, "I don't want any of this."

"I..." Ichigo was at a complete loss of words for this one. What was she supposed to say? _Too bad? Suck it up? _There was always a possibility that Ryou could reverse the effects of the injection, but she couldn't see him agreeing to that. Some other girl would just be forced to take her place. Staring at the ground herself, Ichigo was silent. Then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed the brown haired girl looking up, glancing worriedly in the boy's direction. He looked fine. He had a scratch on his right arm, and had probably just blacked out from shock, but other than that he was unharmed. It was obvious that this girl was still worried about him though, and that she cared for him very much.

Finally, she knew what to say. "You can protect him, this way." Ichigo said softly, nodding in the unconsious boy's direction. This seemed to make the other girl relax a bit, her head lifting, considering wisely. Holding her breath, Ichigo waited, unable to read her calm and thoughtful expression. "There are those who just want to hurt. And that's why we fight them - we fight because we want to protect the ones we love. That's all that we're able to do. Do you... understand?"

For a long moment, there was nothing but quiet. Even Kona and Yumi were silently contemplating. So Ichigo waited, swallowing, trying feebly to hide the hopeful look in her eyes. It didn't seem like the girl would consider anything based on her expressions anyway. She just kept staring, unmoving, and Ichigo in turn waited. _We need another comrade. We need another friend._

"...yeah," She said with a light nod, and her uniform disapeared as she transformed back to normal. Straightening up, the girl looked caringly over at her companion, eyes soft, and yet suddenly strong at the same time. "...yeah, you're right." Turning her head, she managed a small smile, her long bangs falling lightly over her eyes.

Ichigo was overjoyed. Her face lit up, and a wide smile appeared on her face instantly. "So, you'll help us then?" She nodded. It took all her restraint to keep from lunging out and hugging her, the new Mew, the new member of their group. "That's..." Ichigo quickly calmed herself down, to keep a collect image in front of the mature girl, "That's good. I'm Ichigo. Kona and Yumi are over there," She motioned towards the two, who were now walking around to the back door to see if they could get it open.

"Kikyo," She introduced herself plainly, nodding politely. Her eyes drifted to the cafe, the pink mass of building, and then back over to Koji. If anything, now he looked more like he was peacefully sleeping, which brought a soft smile to her lips. Unsurely, she glanced at Ichigo, who blinked a few times before figuring out what the problem was.

Piping in a cheery voice, "Oh! Right. You can... er, bring him in if you'd like. I'm sure Shirogane has an extra room or something he can lay down in until he wakes up. Then I can introduce you to them, okay?"

Kikyo nodded, and then shook her head right after, turning to Ichigo. A small smile appeared on her face. It was different now. She may not like it too much, but this was who she was. She'd cope with it, even if it was just to protect and keep Koji safe from the dangers that surrounded him. "No," She muttered, more to herself than anything, her long hair blowing lightly in the breeze, "No, I can introduce myself. This is who I am, now, after all."

--

"You did it again."

"From what I remember, _you _disappeared too, Ari."

"Keh. Like I was going to try taking them on my_ own_."

"Oh, so you finally admit you can't handle everything _all by your mighty self? _Good. We've made some progress."

"You saw the bandages, Hanajima. This damn state of transformation is annoying as hell."

"About that. I've noticed you've skipped classes. You do know they're all wondering where you've disappeared to, right?"

"Like I care. There's no reason for me to be there anymore - neko-girl pulled that blame thing once already. At least they all thought she was a nutcase instead - not like she could have proved it, anyways. I found her, and that's why I put myself in that position in the first place. Now there's no reason for me to waste my time in that cramped space. I'm surprised you're still there."

"Hmm, it's entertaining. You can't be battling mew girls 24/7, after all. I find it especially amusing to ask Momomiya questions - she tenses right up and stutters. Though it's becoming stale. Perhaps I'll pull a little disappearing act, myself."

"Well aren't _you_ creative."

----

_Next Chapter:_

_Three down, one to go. Ryou reveals a discovery that alarms Ichigo more than anyone. As they set off to find the fourth and final Blend Mew, Ari decides to pay her target-kitten a visit - while issuing a very dire threat that sets the clock in motion. Ruining the lives of strangers is one thing - but what happens when you have to choose the fate of a friend? _


	7. One Way Decision

**xuri: **Heyyyyy. Yeah, chapter seven was not up in time. In fact, the only reason it's up at all is because someone reviewed. Yay. So, new rule, new rule! I need at least one review after I make each chapter for the next chapter to go up. Otherwise, it could be a week between each chapter. Or more. Do you want to wait twenty more weeks? I hope not. :3 Anyways, when I ask for a review, I don't need a novel quality analysis. Just some acknowledgement so I know someone's reading. Whether it's "can't wait for next chapter!" or "I didn't like this chapter much, but the other ones are great", I don't care. Critique is as loved and appreciated by me as compliments, so fire away. If you want to leave longer comments, by all means, do. If you want to type five words ("my house is moldy cheese") that have no relation whatsoever, be my guest. Just something. Pweez? x3

SamKo: This chapter is dedicated to you. xD Whee, thank you, I like Yumi a lot too. I've had a lot of fun tweaking at her personality to make it funner this time around. And so sorry about the length! I take full responsibility for any trouble and/or scolding that takes place because of the time consuming reading. As long as you don't sue. Suing is not nice. xD

I don't totally own Kikyo, either. But I own her 'Mew Kitsune' name, just as I own 'Mew Powder' and 'Mew Framboise'. Yeah. Just in case you cared.

--

**Blend (chapter seven)**

**..One Way Decision..**

_Three down. One to go._

That's what was in the heads of all four girls at this moment. Of course, they didn't know they were all thinking it, but they were. Down in the basement, making their ways solemnly up the stairs, not saying a word, not even making eye contact. They were all a bit shaken, a bit stirred and unsure; but one of them was a notch above the rest on the anxiety meter.

Ryou had called them together earlier, the day after Kikyo had became part of the group. Yumi, Ichigo, Kona and Kikyo had joined him and Keiichiro down in the basement, where he was hunched over a computer, typing furiously with the brown haired man at his side. Ichigo, as usual, was quick to demand what was going on, while Kona kept reminding her calmly to _'keep your voice down, Ichigo'. _Yumi was busy challenging Kikyo to a race, even though she declined over and over again, so they were all surprised at what happened next.

Ryou congratulated them.

At the time, Ichigo looked almost as if she had seen a ghost, and then, as a reflex, became suspicious. The other girls were simply curious as to what they'd accomplished. "You found Kikyo," He explained, nodding towards the Orange-cafe-uniform clad girl, "without my help. I knew you'd find her eventually, but not that quickly. I'm impressed." Ichigo and Kona sweatdropped, covering Yumi's mouth as inconspiciously as possible. Neither wanted to admit that Kikyo, just like the others, had stumbled on her powers by complete chance. Praise from Ryou was rare and appreciated. Yumi flailed for a bit before her interest caught on something else.

"And, as you know, there's one left to find," He said simply, once again bringing up the projection of the 4 animals and their human counterparts. All of them had photos matched up with them... except one. "As you know-"

"Yeah, yeah, we all know Shirogane!" Ichigo whined in annoyance, folding her arms over her chest, "'_Find the last Mew! Work faster_!' We heard you like, the first 10 times. It's like you think we're _stupid_ or something."

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. Kikyo just had her hand to her forehead, a look on her face that said '_why does he even bother dealing with her_?'. Finally, Ryou cleared his throat, pushing the chair back and standing back up to his feet.

"As I was saying," He raised an eyebrow at the pouting Ichigo, "I was unable to locate any of you three." Ryou motioned to Kona, Yumi and Kikyo, "However, by reviewing the leftover information that was stored on the Blend Program Disc, I was able to pick up some data on the fourth one... And I know who she is."

"_What_?" The girls all cried at once, leaning forward in surprise. He just shrugged, glancing dismissively off to the side. "How did you...when...?" Kona managed to sputter, while keeping Yumi under caps from going completely news-happy.

"Keiichiro and I managed to create a tracking mechanism, similar to the one we used to find and inject the original Tokyo Mew Mew members," He nodded to Ichigo, "It took a while to boot up, but we picked up digital readings that match those of the Fourth Member. The scarce information that was gathered at first, anyways,"

"Who is it? What's her name?" Ichigo demanded loudly, pushed past the other three girls so she was right up in his face. Appearing slightly alarmed, Ryou glanced down at her, and then ran a hand patiently through his mussed blonde hair.

"She's a student at your school, Ichigo," Ryou said. As if that wasn't enough to startle the girl. As if it weren't enough to make the hairs on her neck stand on end. As if it, alone, didn't leave her wondering and confused, feeling like she'd been chasing a ghost that had only been a veil of dust in the first place.

"Her name is Hataru Roxi."

And so, there they were now, making their way up the stairs again to get back to work. Ichigo's eyes were glazed over. Kona looked at her worriedly, often trying to get her to talk. And she did, occasionally, but only with _'yes'_, '_I'm fine', _and '_I'll get right on it'_. Her voice sounded weak, like she had recieved some massive blow.

_Roxi_. That was _her_ Roxi. One of her best friends. As she wandered into the kitchen, Ichigo set her head against the wall. Trying to think. To remember if she'd ever seen any signs. No marks, no strange behaviour, no sudden alien assasination attempts to the girl... nothing. Or maybe there were, and Ichigo simply hadn't been paying attention. That made her feel even worse. _What kind of friend am I...?_

Nonetheless, Yumi was overjoyed by this news. "Roxi's a _Mew_! Roxi's a _Mew_!" She chanted ecstaticly, practically cartwheeling in the back room.

Ichigo didn't want to be the bad friend. She and Roxi had known eachother for almost 2 years... didn't that mean she knew her own friend well enough to notice if she suddenly had been_ injected as a mew_? Not only that, but the prospect of her being as reluctant as Kikyo... well, it nearly broke her heart. Forcing strangers into a fate was hard enough. But forcing a friend was almost _traitorous_, and she was most afraid that this would jeopordize their friendship, let alone Roxi's very life.

Sighing, she got back up and dusted off her uniform before walking back out into the cafe, where Kona was trying to calm an over excited Yumi down. As soon as Ichigo came into earshot, Kona froze and tried even harder to make the girl shut up.

"Araaaa, I'm so _happy_!" The short girl cried, switching from foot to foot, "Roxi's a Mew Mew! She'll fight with us! It'll be _sooo_ awesome!"

"Ah, Yumi..." Kona said cautiously, and they both watched nervously as a drone-like Ichigo walked by. In truth, the strawberry-head didn't even notice; she was so deep in thought, so distracted by herself that things like Yumi cheering didn't even reach her head. Keeping on a one-track mind, Ichigo picked up an order of Blueberry Cheesecake and sent it to the appropriate table...twice.

"Ichigo-san..." Keiichiro started as she came in a third time, requesting a cheesecake for table 4. Sweatdropping, he tried explaining it to her, but the blank-faced girl just repeated the request quietly, glancing off to the side absently. "Ah, are you...?"

"Strawberry, _get back to work_," Ryou growled as he entered the kitchen to wash some dishes. Keiichiro had requested the extra help. When she didn't respond, the blonde cocked and eyebrow and turned towards her suspiciously. "What's bothering you? You look really distracted."

"Huh?" Blinking, Ichigo suddenly looked up, this seeming to snap her out of the depressed trance she'd set herself in. Then, processing all the words he had said, the girl shook her head. "N-no, I'm fine... I think... but..."

Taking a step over, Ryou flicked her in the forehead with a finger. In response, Ichigo just blinked, not even flinching. Ryou narrowed his eyes and frowned. "_What_ is wrong with you today?" He muttered to himself, and then shrugged, turning his back to her as he made his way over to the sink grudgingly. Sighing, Ichigo turned back to look up to the tall brunette chef.

"Uhm, Akasaka-san, I need a Blueberry Cheesecake for table---"

"Go. _Out. Side_." Turning around again, Ryou stared hard at Ichigo, who was cut off during her order. Blinking slowly, as if just waking up, she tilted her head.

"Shirogane...?"

"I think you need some fresh air right now, Ichigo. Ask anyone else and they'll tell you the same," Ryou said simply and nodded, standing there unmoving until she agreed to go. Staring at him for a long time with wide eyes, Ichigo finally got it, and nodded, putting a hand to her head.

"Yeah... I guess I really do need some air... I'll be out for a second," She murmured, and turned around to head out the kitchen door. Sighing, Ryou turned to go back to work.

_Strange girl..._

Walking past the other three girls, who had their hands full serving customers (it was a peak hour, apparently), Ichigo pushed the door open and stepped outside.

Even just being surrounded by the cool, nighttime air seemed to calm her. Breathing in deeply, she closed her eyes, just trying to calm her frenzied thoughts for starters. The only sounds greeting her ears were the rustle of leaves, soft footsteps, the occasional whirr of a passing car. Running a hand through her hair, she sighed and stepped off the porch, making her way out onto the sidewalk lining past the Cafe.

It probably looked odd, seeing a teenager in a bright red Cafe uniform, wandering along the street. She didn't really care right now, though. Ichigo had a lot on her mind, and she didn't need to worry about stranger's opinions... at least for the moment.

After a few minutes of aimless walking, she found a random bench and plopped down on it, exhausted. As much as she was so accustomed to this hectic life, it still took a lot out of her. And it's not like one of her best friends had _ever_ gotten involved like this. Putting her hand to her forehead, she sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. _Stop worrying... you can't do anything about it now... just... take your time, try to figure out a way to..._

"Beautiful night, hm?" Someone beside her voiced. Ichigo wasn't even startled. She was too tired for that.

"Yeah..." She mumbled to herself, opening her eyes briefly to stare at the ground, "It's kind of... quiet..."

"Ah, you don't like the quiet, I suppose," They said calmly, and then added, "Understandable... _Ichigo-neko_."

It took a minute. Ichigo jolted upright, her neck snapping around to see the blue haired girl, clad in a sweater and baggy pants, sitting calmly next to her with a smirk on her face. Her amber eyes widened in horror.

"You-!" She hissed, and then jumped up to her feet defensively, opening her mouth to shout out a chain of words.

Ari stopped her. "Re-_laaax_," She held up a hand calmly, grinning, still sitting casually on the bench. The girl patted the space beside her. "I'm not in a mood for fighting today. Sit, sit, Ichigo. Let's chat for a while," Ichigo glared protectively, refusing to budge. Raising an eyebrow, Ari's gold-specked eyes flickered to the side. "Do you really think I'm _dumb_ enough to spring on you when there's this many people around?"

Ichigo paused. Then, she glanced over her shoulder. Individuals and groups were passing by, as well as a handful of traffic every few seconds. She swallowed. No, Ari wouldn't be that foolish... And neither would Ichigo. To simply transform in public, share her secret, further _mutilate_ her already destroyed image... Deciding she had had enough fresh air, the redhead turned wordlessly back to the cafe.

"Leaving so soon?" She ignored the muse sounding behind her. "Ah, why don't you sit down and chat? I'm just _dying_ to catch up with you, neko. Besides..." Ichigo shuddered, almost sure she could feel Ari smirking behind her, "If I happened to feel like starting a fight right here, I could. We have other ways of hiding, you understand. You, on the other hand..."

Ichigo froze in her footsteps. Bluffing. Ari _must_ be bluffing. She wouldn't dare attack her in the public, infront of all these people... would she? Blinking, Ichigo glanced back over her shoulder. The pale girl was still motioning for her to sit, like a friend might do, but had a cruel smile, and a '_try-me' _look glinting in her eyes. Swallowing, the redhead helplessly trudged back over to the bench, stiffling sitting beside the alien. Ari chuckled softly, satisfied and triumphant.

"What do you want?" Ichigo growled, keeping an eye on all the people passing by.

"Geez, can't a girl talk to her friend without wanting something?" She playfully patted Ichigo on the back. Ichigo winced. _She's enjoying tormenting me, isn't she..._

"_We're. Not. Friends_."

"Well that's a disappointment," Ari frowned, but then shrugged it off and folded her hands casually behind her head, leaning back against the bench, "Oh, well. I just thought I'd give you some fair warning, Ichigo-neko."

Fair warning. For what?... Ichigo was silent, but her eyes glanced over at Ari curiously. She couldn't help but feel nervous about this. Fair warning. _Fair warning_...?

Giving a sinister smile, Ari shifted in her seat, setting her hands gently back to her sides. Her gaze was fixed on all the passerbys, almost hungrily, as the suspense continued to build in Ichigo's mind. Then, with a content sigh, the once-alien girl stood to her feet, burying a hand in her pocket. "Your little friend, neko... She's one of _you_, isn't she? I just thought I'd let you know that Hanajima and I know." With a grin, she cast Ichigo one last glance. "And we could _use_ a few more allies. Poor little blind Hataru girl... It must be a confusing time, finding you have powers. Just imagine what a few _lies_ could do to a vulnerable mind..." With a soft laugh, Ari faded into the crowd, leaving Ichigo stunned on the bench.

Roxi... Slowly coming out of her stun, Ichigo realized the danger Roxi, and even the rest of them, could be in now. Jumping up to her feet, the girl dashed towards the cafe, shoving past crowds, running as if some monster were chasing her. Only one thought played through her mind, like a broken record _- Roxi, Roxi... I can't let them get to you, Roxi!_

--

When a breathless Ichigo burst through the doors, Kona immediately took her away from the customers and into the kitchen. Unable to get anything out of the panting girl, she immediately went to Ryou and Keiichiro, who were unable to coax an explanation from Ichigo, either. Finally, the panicked girl managed to request that she go home early. Even though there was still two hours left of her shift, Ryou could see how distressed the girl was. Deciding she had been acting strangely all day anyways, the boy allowed her to take the rest of the night off.

Ichigo wasted no time. Instantly, she'd ran all the way home, where her mother and father were just finishing dinner. She half heartedly greeted them before snatching the phone and racing to her room, where she dialed Roxi's number without a second to spare. The answering machine picked up. Trying several more times in a frenzy, Ichigo continued to get the same thing, and eventually gave up, flopping down onto her bed. But not before setting her alarm.

The next morning, she was up extra early, and skipped breakfast entirely, much to the dismay and confusion of her mother. Since no bus came by so early, she had to run all the way to school, in nearly all dark. By the time she arrived, out of energy, the sun was just barely rising, and there was no one else around. Thus, she settled on camping out, and raided her lunch for anything that would suffice for a morning snack. After an hour or so, people began arriving - Ichigo darted around, searching both for Ari and for Roxi. The alien couldn't do anything if Ichigo found her first, right...? She'd been wanting to brainstorm a way to break it to her gently, in some way that wouldn't shock the girl. But there was no longer time for that. It was a matter of _good_ and _evil, _so to speak.

Now she stood there, on the sidewalk, looking left and right, uncomfortably adjusting her shoe. Ichigo had grabbed an old pair by accident on the way out, and they didn't fit well at all. But she had things other than a pair of small shoes to worry about right now.

And so, she waited. As patiently as one could, when anxious to tell a best friend she had crazy-animal-DNA-powers. People began flooding down the walkway, disappearing into their normal groups, but Ichigo could see no sign of Ari. Or Roxi, for that matter. And she was growing more and more nervous by the second.

_Suppose... what if Ari found Roxi already?_ The thought terrified her. _Baka_! Why couldn't she have just gone straight to Roxi's house? She'd though that school would be a prime target place for Ari, but she could be wrong. What with the alien able to disguise herself as a human, there seemed no limit to other possibilities. In an attempt to stay calm, she began pacing, back and forth, back and forth, trying to console herself out loud. Of course, this repelled all the other people - it made Ichigo look like a raving psychopath. Oh well. She'd already decided Roxi was her priority, anyways.

Pausing, Ichigo then saw a familiar figure coming up the walkway. Cherri. She had her glance directed at another group, who she was ready to call for when Ichigo nearly tackled her to the ground.

"W-_wah_!" Cherri stuttered, nearly falling over. With wide eyes, she regained her balance and stared at Ichigo. "Neh, Ichigo, what's up with you today?"

"Ch...Cherri," She panted, as if flagging down her friend took a lot of effort. The red-haired cat girl stood up straight, looking over the newcomer's shoulder. "Ano, where's Roxi? It's really important!"

"Roxi...?" She said spacily. Ichigo panicked. If Cherri didn't know where Roxi was -- and Roxi was _never _sick -- that couldn't mean that she'd been---!

Right away, Cherri perked up, holding a finger upright in thought, "Oh, she's on vacation, with Miwa in Hawaii. Didn't she tell you she was going on holiday?"

Ichigo's jaw nearly dropped. Her heart was still buzzing in a frenzy, but now she felt completely clueless... and embarassed. _Nice going... _She smiled sheepishly, a sweatdrop running down the side of her head.

Cherri blinked, "Are you... okay?" then shrugged, "Ahh, you're upset, I know. I mean, Miwa and_ I _hang out sometimes. Why couldn't she invite me for once?... Geez, Roxi, getting all the fun..."

"Er," Suddenly realizing the amount of people staring at her and whispering about the _'pacing and muttering psychopath'_, Ichigo switched back to reality-mode, "Yeah, the nerve. Well, it was great talkin' to ya Cherri, but I've gotta get to class, ahahaha!" She giggled nervously and then zoomed off in the other direction, leaving Cherri a bit bewildered before heading off to join her usual group.

Ari wasn't at school. Then again, ever since the 'Day of Accusation', she hadn't been at all - and neither had Hanajima, aka Mrs. Kazuhawa. But somehow, for once, having the alien in sight seemed much safer, just so she could make sure everything was under caps. But it was okay now, right? No sense getting more worried when Roxi was all safe and sound, in Hawaii...

_Hold it._ Her eyes fluttered open, and she lifted her head from the english textbook she'd been snoozing on. Still oblivious to the professor's lecture going on all around her_. ...When is Roxi coming back?... Maybe it's tonight... Maybe Ari knows... maybe she's already there - Arrrgh!_ Stress boiling over, Ichigo buried her face in the text pages, trying to calm herself down. She couldn't deal with this now.

So, she breezed through the day, which mostly consisted of unnecessary stress and no work done, and walked to the cafe straight after school, her spirits fairly damp from the recent occurance. Ichigo had pretty much worked her stress-level to overdrive, and was now suffering from a depressed melt down. As she stepped into the cafe, she was hardly surprised to see it was so crowded - these hours were peak for Cafe Mew Mew. It was apparently a nice break right after work and school, to come and have cake and smoothies with friends at a Cafe where nothing bad could ever happen.

The moment she stepped inside, Ichigo saw Yumi running around, chattering happily about Roxi and how much fun it would be to have her on the '_team' _(Kikyo told her to use the word if she was going to talk around the customers). Kona and Kikyo looked completely exhausted, having obviously given up on quietting her down long ago, but snapped back to attention when Ichigo appeared inside. Dropping the broom where she stood, Kona dashed over to the short prancing girl and covered her mouth, dragging the struggling mass into the kitchen away from the stressed cat girl.

Ryou was the first to actually acknowledge her presence with words. "Feeling better?" He said simply, tilting his head to the side.

Ichigo stuck a hand through her hair, closing her eyes and nodding. _No_, no she wasn't. But what could Ryou and the others do? Opening an eye, she glanced over at the kitchen. "Sorry," She murmured to Ryou and stepped past him, stepping carefully over to the employee-only room filled with cooking utensils and recipes.

"Ara? But why? You and Kikyo_ said _I could talk all I wanted --"

"Neh, Yumi! But that was when Ichigo wasn't here! Now-" Cutting herself off, Kona and Yumi turned to see the redhead standing idly in the doorway. Looking suddenly ashamed, the pink-and-black uniformed girl opened her mouth to apologize, but Ichigo interupted.

"It's alright," She said softly, managing a small smile, "Could I just.. talk to Yumi for a second?"

Kona looked suddenly concerned about the loud-and-exuberant Yumi's health, and bit her lip, getting ideas of certain beatings involving brooms and pans. However, she nodded, glancing at the shorter girl before slipping out the kitchen door. Yumi was oblivious to these worries, though, and hopped right over to Ichigo with a smile.

"What's up?" She chirped.

"Ah," Ichigo shrugged, having to lean down a bit to speak with little Yumi so close up, "Yumi... you know Roxi's on vacation, right?"

"Mm, yeah," Yumi nodded sadly, sighing overdramatically, "Lucky duck. Hawaii's so nice..."

"Do you..." She cleared her throat, "Would you happen to know when she's coming back?"

"Ohh?" Looking thoughtful at this, Yumi tapped her finger to her chin, staring oddly at the ceiling. Then, snapping her fingers, her eyes lit up instantly. "Oh, right! She said she was coming back... that would be _tommorow_!"

"What time?"

"Ara... Midnight." Yumi grinned. Ichigo slouched.

Groaning softly to herself - fully anticipating she would be the one waiting there for her tommorow night - Ichigo nodded, trying to look grateful. "Thanks, Yumi," She said weakly, and turned to get her uniform and change into it. Might as well tire herself out, while she was at it.

Ichigo would be needing a _looong_ sleep to prepare for Roxi's arrival.

--

Today was the day.

In fact, Ichigo was well prepared. After a very neglectful sleep the night before, she decided to fake sick. And, wow, she was actually _really _good at it. Both her parents deemed she was unfit to go to school that day, so the girl got to spend the entire 7 hours mulling and catching up on some shut eye. She was never much of a night person, especially when it came to tough life-changing missions that involved psychotic aliens. The least she could do was stay up during the whole thing... if anything happened. Ichigo hoped it wouldn't.

But she was almost certain things would _have_ to go wrong, one way or another.

Right after her shift at the cafe - which ended at about 7:00 (not including the extra 15 minutes they had to spend cleaning up) - Ichigo dressed warmly and comfortably, packing a mini-care-kit for herself. She was treating an airport stakeout more like a camping trip; toothbrush, some snacks, a bottle of water, even hairspray in case she ran into a certain Aoyama-kun after suffering late-night hair. By 8:30, she was out the door, full of a delicious supper, and ready to catch a bus to the airport.

Coming early was just part of her being organized, but Ichigo never realized just how boring an airport was when you weren't about to go anywhere. This time of night, this season, it was practically empty. A few outlets in the food court were open, but most were closed since there was no one around anyways. Ichigo had half expected to be fighting her way through crowds and sitting on the floor while waiting for Roxi to arrive. She couldn't decide whether this was better or worse.

After she'd spent a few minutes exploring her surroundings and locating Roxi's flight number, Ichigo unloaded her things and sat down in a chair. For a while, she just quietly sat there. Then, deciding that made time go by too slowly, the girl started rummaging through her backpack. The one thing she didn't pack, Ichigo thought to herself as she tossed a tube of toothpaste aside, was a watch. She had no idea whether an hour had just passed by, or 32 seconds. There wasn't a clock anywhere nearby, either. She considered sleeping, but then what if she missed Roxi's arrival? It'd be hard for Roxi to miss the one person sitting in the middle of a sea of chairs, but still. She'd feel sick to her stomach if her friend was once more out of her protective grasp.

Resolving she could at least read the Science textbook she'd lugged around, Ichigo opened it, and nearly closed it again right away because it was so extremely boring. However, as pointless and slow as it was, it was pretty much a teensy step up from sitting in a chair doing nothing. Plus, this might be an opportunity to save her lower grades from dropping any more. As she read, Ichigo snacked on various things, always keeping an eye out and an ear open for flight announcements. Nothing. It looked like she'd be here straight until midnight, after all.

The hours passed. A few times, Ichigo got up to wander around, view the souveneir shops, and even bought herself a cute panda plushie. This took up very little time, and when midnight finally did come around, she was about ready to curl up for a cat nap. However, she didn't get the chance, because right then the intercom clicked on.

"Flight 354 Honolulu to Tokyo arriving." The attendant repeated it one more time before clicking off. Ichigo jolted up in her seat and rubbed her eyes, beginning to quickly re-pack her things. The girl's mind was racing. What would she say to Roxi? Would she start off with a greeting? Or jump right into it? How would she explain? Blatantly say, '_You've got animal powers'_? Or improvise some heartfelt, teary speech so she wouldn't feel abandoned? She was so stressed about it that the redhead began to pace, back and forth, nearly crashing into chairs several times, until passengers started coming into the Flight 354 lobby area.

Trying to smother her panic, Ichigo swallowed and went back to her chair, standing on her tip toes as she searched for Roxi. Not there. Her heart caught in her throat - maybe she had the wrong flight number? Immediately, she began putting together a last minute plan for taking the transit back to Roxi's house, and making some excuse up along the way. The passengers cleared the area immediately, going straight downstairs to retrieve their luggage. She was just about to run off when Ichigo saw one last person step out of the walkway.

"Ichigo-chan?" Roxi blinked, looking as if she'd just woken up. Yawning lazily, she tilted her head, strands of brown hair falling lightly over her tanned face. "What are you...?"

"Roxi," Ichigo breathed, stunned. Immediately, she rushed over, words falling out of her mouth, one after another. "Roxi! How was your trip? Do you feel strange? Did anyone bother you? Where's Miwa? Do you want me to get your luggage? Did you--"

"Miwa?" Roxi obviously chose to answer only one of Ichigo's trailing questions, "She's staying for another day. My parents wanted me to come back in time for exam prep... Neh, really, _why _are you here?"

Ichigo was about to spout some more senseless talk, when the question reminded her why she really _was_ here. For a second, she'd forgotten, and just known something was wrong. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, trying to clearly remember what solutions she'd come up with for this scenario in her head, over and over again. Not too elaborate, not too simple... somewhere in between...

"Roxi, I..." Trailing off, she found it suddenly hard to form the words. She wanted so badly to protect her from all of this. "You... see, there's something about me... you don't-"

"_Know_?"

Everything froze, right there. The word completed a sentance that made Ichigo feel horrible, sick, like she really was a horrible and untrustworthy friend. Maybe it would have been even harder to explain it to her, to continue this trapped conversation, maybe it would have even torn the cat girl to pieces emotionally. But this was a different situation. _Roxi hadn't spoken a word_.

No, she was staring at the source of the voice, oddly, without fear. Ichigo stood frigid, and turned, even though she knew who it was before she saw the blue hair and golden eyes.

_Ari had found them._

_---_

_Next Chapter:_

_Ichigo has a duty - to protect her friend. Now that Ari's there, with just as much influence because of a cat-girl's bad timing, it's going to be even more difficult to explain things. Nevermind a fight to prevent a friend from becoming an enemy. Now Ichigo has to decide what she's protecting Roxi from - Ari, or the truth?_


	8. Twisting Truths

**xuri:** Dun dun dunnn. xD Oh how I loves cliffhangers. Don't you loves cliffhangers, dearest readers? No? That's alright. I'll just bore you with meaningless chatteringness. Yaaay, chapter eight. Eighteighteight. Which means there are eighteen chapters left. Whoah. How cool is that. No, really. How kewel. Uh huh. Bored yet?

midori complex: Thank you. :3 I'm still a bit concerned about the overall oc-ness of the story, but it's good to know I can at least keep Ichigo in tact. For the most part. x3 She's the hero, after all, and heroes need to be...er... themselves. xD

SamKo: Aw, that's just because you're special. xD And a headless chicken, apparently. Lovely. Yay, it's a good OCs story. :D Hopefully I can do as well with actual show characters in future fanfics... because that's what counts, yays. Thankies.

Applecake: Forgive me! xD Really, though, if you want a rough estimate, a chapter should be going up every day. As long as there's been at least one review. At varying times. So. Yah. x3 Fwee, Ari needs love. Really, she does. -hugs Ari plushie- Although she can't much beat Ryou-kun... I do loves my Ryou-kun...

BridgitKiido: Ooh, but of course. I like the one better here anyways. And they aren't really that different, so it's not like it would be particularily entertaining to compare. xD Myyy, I do love cliffhangers. They pop up in several more chapters ahead, mostly because I didn't want to take two weeks to complete a chapter that I could just cliff-hang in one. Lazy route. x3

I really won't have to say this many more times - really, I won't - but I don't completely own the idea of Roxi. Just so no lawsuits go on. For... whatever reason.

---

**Blend (chapter eight)**

**..Twisting Truths..**

The silence lasted a very long time. Nothing budged. Not so much as a sound was made. Or, maybe it didn't last as long as Ichigo had percieved; Roxi seemed completely oblivious to the taunting and surprised glares being exchanged between Ari and the redhead. So, before the silence became so thick that the Strawberry girl swore she could have choked, Roxi broke it.

"Who's this?"

There was a polite, yet demanding, tone in her voice as she motioned towards Ari, who smiled wryly. Ichigo opened her mouth, but the other one beat her to the chase.

"Chiyako Ari," She said lightly, casually flipping her long dark hair over her shoulder and striking a semi-pose, "Transfer student from Kyoto. Came to Daikan a few weeks ago."

Roxi stared blankly, which obviously annoyed the alien-in-disguise to no end. Before she could say anything haughty, the brunette's eyes lit up.

"Oh! Right!" She smiled, nodding slowly, "I heard about you," This seemed to please Ari, "You're in Ichigo-chan's grade, neh? You must have at least one class together! So, you guys are friends? Why haven't I met her before?" Now she was on Ichigo again, smiling curiously.

Ichigo sweatdropped."Er... I wouldn't say_ that_--"

"We're more 'casual acquintances'," Ari noted coolly, "Oh, well, That doesn't mean _we_ can't be friends, does it? I do believe you're much better dressed than Momomiya here,"

Red head twitched_. Grr, she's really getting in her shots when she can, huh...?_

"Eheh, thanks! I'm Hataru Roxanne," She chirped in reply, ignoring Ichigo's boiling rage in the background, "Call me Roxi, though. We should do something sometime..."

"Why not _now_? You don't look tired or anything, unlike Momomiya," Ari sent a pitiful glance back at the other girl, "She'll go home and caffeinate, I'm sure. Here, I've already been to a great shopping mall here. I'm sure you've been there - it's..."

"H-hey!" Ari had now begun to steer Roxi away from the deserted lobby, and Ichigo. The left-behind hurried to catch up to them, grabbing Roxi's free arm protectively, "Don't just _leave _me here!"

"What do you mean? We're just going to get my luggage..."

"What, don't you want to go check out that mall, Hataru?"

"Oh, yeah, we can definitely do that. And I told you you could call me Roxi..."

"_She's doing it again_!" Ichigo shouted, jumping out to clutch Roxi's wrist as Ari attempted to break away from the clinging girl. Roxi was beginning to look annoyed, and Ichigo put on an apolegetic face. _Roxi... you need to know how much danger you're in!_

"Don't mind Momomiya, she's a _tad_ insecure." Ari waved off Ichigo's antics as if they were a child acting up.

Reluctantly, Roxi nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmm... Well, she _has_ been acting up lately," She turned a concerned glance towards Ichigo, "Ichigo-chan... are you and Masaya-kun okay? We barely see you two together anymore--"

"Wah! What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Completely forget about Threat-A-La-Ari, Ichigo stopped in her footsteps, hands on her hips. She looked insulted by the comment. "For your information, Aoyama-kun and I are _perfectly_ happy! He just has a lot on his plate, and I'm respecting that!"

Ari smirked, obviously picking up some way to frustrate Ichigo even more. "She's in denial," The whisper to Roxi only managed to further enrage poor Ichigo. That had been Ari's point, after all.

"I am_ not_---!" Her voice wisped away, disappearing into thin air, her jaw still open. A sense of uncertainty crossed over her. Not because of the conversation - no, no, she _knew_ Masaya and her were fine - but there was a sudden disruption. A sense that something was wrong, very _very _wrong...

Just as quickly as that feeling came, a ripple cracked through the air. And, within seconds, a pointy-eared figure clad in girlish battle gear stood on the same lobby floor, a calm grimace on her face.

Alien number two. Ichigo froze to the spot, suddenly paralyzed and overwhelmed. Sure, she'd gone over this scenario in her head, over and over again, coming up with ways to explain the unexplainable to her good friend Roxanne. But she hadn't expected Ari to show up... let alone Hanajima, too.

At first, Ari didn't really look like she knew what to do at all. Right away, she appeared irritated and disrupted; then, suddenly, thoughtful, as if this worked out perfectly for her. Roxi looked completely confused, out of the whole plot altogether.

"Er... Ari-chan...where did that girl come from...?"

Ari was silent. Then, turned away for a moment, she sighed - a heavy, exhausted sigh. For a fleeting moment, Ichigo thought the alien was tired of this and would just leave. No such luck.

"Have you..." Ari turned solemnly towards Roxi, staring her straight in the eye, "...noticed any _strange_ marks lately? Abilities? Cravings? Behaviors?"

It took a moment for Ichigo to realize she'd heard that before_. No...no way! She's interrogating my friend! Just like..._

"W-what are you talking about?" Roxi sputtered slowly, with wide eyes. There was a lot of doubt on her face, but even Ichigo could hear the strain in her voice. The red head felt her heart fall. So, Roxi already _knew_ something was abnormal about her. And Ichigo had never even noticed, or been able to do anything to help...

_What kind of friend am I...?_

"Strangely shaped marks on your body. The ability to do things you've never been able to before..." Ari's voice was soft, comforting, but Ichigo could nearly pick up the slimy and conniving tone masking itself beneath. But she was silent. Roxi already looked frightened enough - if Ichigo suddenly jumped out with alien accusations now, just imagine how her friend would feel, stuck in a situation liek this.

"Well, I..." Suddenly having a change of heart in the matter, the brunette tilted her head thoughtfully to the ceiling. Now Roxi no longer looked distressed; the look on her face more said _'I guess I can trust you'_. Which mortified Ichigo - she had barely known Ari for three minutes, and already was confiding in her? Though attention had been pulled from her, Ichigo glanced at Hanajima uneasily. She was calmly rested up against a wall, watching calmly, trying to read Ari without changing her own expression.

"There's this. See?" Continued Roxi, who held out her palm. In the center rested a faint, pink heart with another outlining it. Ichigo stared in disbelief. _How did I never notice that? _"And, I guess I have been better at rope-climbing in P.E. lately. Even though I'm a lot more tired..."

Roxi didn't see. Ichigo did. For one moment, Ari's golden specked eyes narrowed, glowing with hungry interest and spite. In that one look, Ichigo was suddenly reminded how much Ari seemed to _hate_ her. Despise her. _What did I do...? She must be after me for some reason..._ But Ichigo didn't have the slightest clue to what it may be.

"Hataru," Ari said solemnly, the look of bitter amusement turning serious again, "I don't know how to tell you this, but it must be told. Otherwise your powers could fall into the wrong hands..."

"_Powers_?" Roxi stared blankly at the girl before her. Ichigo's eyes widened, but she restrained herself. _Not yet... no outbursts yet, Ichigo..._ Once Ari so much as mentioned _'injections'_, _'transfomations'_, anything like that, she'd come to the rescue. Right now, Ichigo couldn't tell if this was just Ari taunting her or not.

"Yes," She smiled slyly, "Powers. Like Hana and I have." Ari motioned for the brown haired alien to step over, "We're all in the same situation, Hataru. And we need you to help..."

_That's it._ That was exactly the phrase she was looking for. Now Ichigo had the OK to come in and save - "..." Ichigo opened her mouth to shout, but no words came out. None. She tried, and tried, but she couldn't make a sound from her lips. Then she noticed a high pitched buzzing in her head, preventing her from doing much everything. It was so loud it made her dizzy, but not so dizzy she didn't see the Illusion's Staff tucked behind Hanajima's back.

_No...No! She's using her power of illusion to mess with my brain...! _Ichigo tried, once more, to utter a single word, but found she was still unable to. The buzzing continued, pounding in her ears, and she stood there helplessly.

"How am I supposed to _help_?" The interrogated girl seemed to be in a confused trance. As if she were so intrigued by this that all emotion had been wiped off her face. "I don't... have any - "

"Come with us." Ari stated simply, and outstretched her hand in a friendly manner. "We're all cursed this way. We can work together, towards the same cause..." Even as she spoke, the air around her dissolved her disguise, leaving her exposed in alien form with pointed ears and strikingly golden eyes. Roxi seemed unaffected.

"I can help...?"

"Yes. You can. You have the power, Hataru Roxi... We can all help each other through this. We can make you_ normal _again."

Perhaps it wasn't the normal that captured her interest so much. It seemed to Ichigo like Roxi didn't care for that at all. Simply the fact, the promise, that she would be an important member of something. Not just a sidekick, or an extra_. A part of something bigger..._

With a nod, Roxi stepped forward and came close to Hanajima, looking at her strangely. "I'm Roxi," She said softly, eager to learn her other teammate's name. All seemed to have forgotten Ichigo's presence completely,

"Hanajima," She replied slyly, a smile appearing on her face. Her sinister eyes glimmered, triumphantly. _Ari has done well... She's quite a good actress, I'll admit._

With the alien's attention diverted, even for only a split second, the stronghold her powers had on Ichigo weakened enough so the girl could escape from it. Just as Ari was about to grab Roxi and teleport her away with them, Ichigo jumped at her and screamed. "Roxi! _STOP_!"

Hanajima and Ari looked alarmed, then the former formed a cross look on her face. Infiltrated. Scowling, the two turned towards the brunette girl, who seemed to be waking up, blinking and looking down at the strawberry girl clinging to her arm.

"Ichigo-chan?"

"Roxi, I'm so sorry - " Ichigo looked up at her friend, still refusing to let go, tears sparkling in her amber eyes, "-I'm so sorry! I should have never kept these secrets from you. I should have acted more quickly. I should have found you before..._ I'm so sorry_!"

"What..." Roxi stared down at her wide eyed, conflicting whether she should try and back away or find out what her friend was rambling so tearfully about, "What are you saying...?"

"She's kept a secret from you. A terrible, terrible secret..." Ari explained in a hushed voice. Ichigo frowned. _It's not like I can't hear you..._

"Secret? Ichigo-chan, what is she talking about?" Turning back to her red haired friend, Roxi looked at her trustingly. Ichigo gulped. _Now or never, I guess._

"Roxi, I've never told you, because I never thought you'd have to know. But now -"

Roxi looked frightened suddenly. Ichigo felt as if she could crumple to the ground. _I've let you down, haven't I, Roxi?... Oh, I'm so sorry..._

"You see, Hataru," Ari continued talking, as if the sudden distress was none of her concern, "Little Momomiya here's been harbouring a deep, dark secret. The powers you have - the curse that will forever burden you - she's helping the boy who started it all."

And suddenly, Ichigo understood the predicament she was in. She hadn't realized how serious it could be if Ari got to Roxi first - how hard it would be for her friend to differentiate between who was telling the truth, and who was twisting it. Her blood felt cold now_. I shouldn't have hesitated..!_ "I..."

"He did this. And she's gone along with it all the way - being a little guinea pig, supporting his theories, making sure that we all suffer under his cause. You'll never be normal again if you don't come with us. She - " Ari glared in Ichigo's direction, "_She_ is the enemy. _She_ is a part of this conspiracy."

Roxi appeared horrified at these descriptions, and immediately stared at the mark on her palm. By the expression on her face, it felt like a burn, a scar. Closing her hand, she looked over at Ichigo with wide eyes.

"Is this true?" She demanded, but in a soft voice.

Ichigo froze. "Well, uhm..." She bit her lip, "...yes. But it's not what she-"

"You see?" Retorted Ari, stepping protectively beside poor, confused Roxi, "See how your so-called 'friend' _lied_ to you? Kept these horrible secrets? If she really cared about you, wouldn't she have _told_ you?"

"I do!" Ichigo shouted, stepping forward, "Roxi, I do care about you. You're my friend. I'd never lie to you if I knew this was going to happen - !"

"More lies," Ari hissed accusingly, "She doesn't care about you. Only your powers. She wants to use you for her and her boyfriend's project!"

"_HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" _Ichigo exploded, clenching her fists and glaring hard at Ari. Roxi barely took notice. To Ichigo's dismay, it seemed like she wasn't even listening anymore.

The brunette slowly lowered her head, sadness and confusion brimming in her wide eyes. "I guess..." She murmured, almost mechanically, "...you _did_ lie to me..."

"Roxi..." Ichigo relaxed her fists, sorrow drawing across her face. "...I never wanted any harm to come to you...I never wanted you to be involved in this!"

She didn't seem convinced. There was an awkward, saddening silence that lasted for quite some time, until Ichigo saw movement from the corner of her eye. Ari's pale hand shifted, lightly, to the side, gently touching Roxi's shoulder. Her fingertips were barely brushing against the skin, so Roxi didn't even notice. Ichigo didn't think that there was something wrong with this... until she realized Hanajima was gone, too. Amber eyes widened, and she gave a jolt when she realized the rippling in the air, the fading of the two images standing before her. It seemed almost as if it were going in slow motion, playing out right infront of her, gradually.

"No!" Ichigo screamed, and dashed forward, "Mew Mew Strawberry, Metamorpha-_sis_!"

Before she'd even tackled into Roxi, a pink light swallowed the girl, transforming her into Mew form. Pink dress, tail, ears and all. Still choking back tears, she clung to her friend protectively, having knocked her away from Ari's transporting grasp. The alien appeared no less than infuriated with this action, and snarled at her. Roxi looked disoriented, and then, suddenly, very alarmed.

"This is me," Ichigo cried breathlessly, backing away from her and holding her arms out at her sides, "Roxi, this is me. This is my secret. My truth. You have to understand -- I don't like it either! All the time, at least. I've learned so much from this experience, but at the same time I've suffered. Nothing can be done about it. Not yet. Not until Tokyo Mew Mew has fulfilled its ultimate goal. Roxi, you haven't been cursed - you've been _chosen _to help on this mission! On _our_ mission!" Her voice was strangled, as if this were a horrible struggle, and her eyes pleaded at her brown haired friend, who appeared torn up on the spot.

"Why believe her?" Ari, seemingly having calmed down, hissed in a low enchanting voice, "She lied to you, after all."

"_Only_ to keep you from danger!" Snapped Ichigo in return.

With wide eyes, Roxi looked at Ichigo helplessly, and then at Ari, and then at the ground, before taking a meek step backwards. With the object of interest out of the way, golden and amber eyes met, holding icy glares, unmoving. Pale fists clenched around materializing daggers. A pair of pink-gloved hands outstretched to clutch a heart shaped bell, the owner's eyes looking apogetically over at the bystanding girl.

"Roxi," She said quietly, and then lowered her gaze. Straightening up, Ichigo centered her focus directly on Ari.

"_I'm sorry_."

"Words are nothing!" Ari taunted, crossing her flame ridden sais, "_Only_ words, Hataru. Remember that. She could just lie and keep secrets from you all over again!" Inhaling, the blue haired alien leaned forward, beckoning a spiral of blue fire to shoot at Ichigo. The cat girl pounced above it, having narrowly missed a direct hit.

"I would never keep a secret like this just to hurt you, Roxi... or anybody!" Somehow, Ichigo managed to spout as she positioned her Strawberry Bell towards Ari. "I just don't want bad things to happen!"

"Pay attention, Ichigo-neko!" In an instant, Ari appeared by the pink-girl's side. A smirk spread across her pale face. "_They already are_."

Ichigo shrieked and ducked beneath a slash, hopping to the side and steadying herself for an attack. Her fists tightened around the curves of the furry bell. "Ribbon! Strawberry _Check_!" She cried, aiming the pink light at her alien target. It hit head on... or, so it seemed. As the energy slowly faded out of sight, the blue haired girl still stood there, barely even drained at all. Ichigo's eyes widened. "What...!"

"I'd think you would have learned by now," Ari mused, resting a hand on her hip. She obviously saw no threat in this battle, eyes glinting with success. "that your same old tricks won't keep working. We're much more advanced than you humans, our kind. Our bodies can adapt and change much more quickly after being exposed to the roughest elements long enough." A grin twitched onto her lips, and she held her hands up tauntingly, "I've grown immune to your attacks, neko girl. They have no effect on me now..."

Ichigo stared in disbelief and horror, arm limp at her side. _This...This isn't...!_ Even her thoughts weren't collecting properly. Before, her attacks had a devastating effect on both aliens. But now, as Ari said - nothing. Ichigo had absolutely nothing. Yes, she could dodge attacks here and there, but that could only go so far. _Gah... why did I come here alone?_

"Kyah!" Snapping back to reality, Ichigo realized just in time that a swirl of deadly blue flame was moving just inches away from her. With a yelp, she dove to the side, but was struck for lack of attention. She was able to get the fire out, but was left with a horrible burn in her side, causing her to double over in pain, her now-useless weapon sprawled across the floor. Ari had no interest in it. She lowered her sais, slowly, and made her way over to the defenseless girl, standing over her limp and shaking body.

"So easy," She murmured, and without a second thought kicked her roughly in the side. Ichigo gagged and curled up in a pitiful ball, sobbing into the carpet. Instead of destroying her on the spot, Ari raised an eyebrow and looked up at the quivering girl in the corner.

"You see? Even if she was telling the truth..." Ari effortlessly jabbed her in the side with her toe again, "...you don't want to be stuck with a weakling, do you? This is no game. You could get _killed_, Hataru, if you don't choose your alliances carefully."

Roxi made no response. Ignoring this, Ari glanced off to the side, where Ichigo's bag was perched lop-sidedly on a chair. Casually, she strode over, grabbing it carelessly in her hand and dumping out the contents all over the floor. A cellphone clattered against the ground, and she paused, setting the bag aside to pick it up in her hands.

"So this is the little mascot," With a devious grin, the alien grabbed the keychain-connected fuzzball and tore it off the cell, which she discarded like a piece of garbage. Tightly in her palm, she squeezed it, crushed it, until a light 'poof' signalled it went back to normal size.

"Huh? Huh? Ichigo?" It chirped in confusion, and Ari shrugged, gripping it by the tail. Masha's pink eyes widened in alarm. "Not Ichigo! Not Ichigo!" Promptly, the pink fuzzball began to fruitlessly struggle. Ari appeared mildly irritated by this, and sighed, lifting it to stare the thing straight in the eye.

"Nope. _Not Ichigo_. Now, give me Roxi Hataru's pendant."

When it refused to abide, mostly by jerking from side to side and crying out many incoherent phrases, Ari's jaw tightened and she tugged on it, tossing the fur ball over at Roxi. The girl caught it in surprise. "Ah..."

As Masha recovered from the soar, its little wings wiggled and its wide eyes looked up at Roxi's face. They stared at eachother for a long time. Then, the fuzzball regained a very joyful expression. "Masha found you! For Ichigo!" Happily, it opened its mouth, the golden tag pendant appearing as usual, set in Roxi's palms. She looked down at it strangely, as if trying to figure out what it meant.

"Transform!" Ari commanded loudly, "Come with me. I can help you lift the curse that even she's been placed under. Look at her now, though - weak. Unable to fight back. You don't want to find yourself in that situation, do you?"

Roxi didn't respond. She just stared down at her pendant with a blank expression. Then, her hands closed tightly around it, and she could feel a power welling beneath her hands, pushing up against her fingers, filling her mind and her body with warmth. That warmth seemed to be flowing through her arms, along her shoulders, and then pushing soft words out from her mouth, so naturally and easily.

"Mew Mew Cerise, _Metamorphasis_," She worded calmly, but clearly, the warmth growing as the pendant burst into a flurry of lights, pink and red. They twisted around her body, gently, and Roxi thought to herself drowsily that it felt almost like being wrapped in a warm, comforting blanket. The strange sensation ended as the light cleared away, leaving her standing there, almost completely unaware of what happened.

Having heard the utter, Ichigo tenderly lifted her head, even just that taking a lot out of her. Her pink eyes widened at the sight before her - a tall, still brown haired girl, wearing a bright red spaghetti strap dress with a poofed skirt, much like her own, and a pair of panda ears resting on her head. The girl's reddish eyes were just clearing up, as if she'd suddenly woken up from some bizarre dream. Only to be faced with some other fantasy, though this time it was taking up space in real life.

"Good. You did it," Quietly applauding, Ari grinned, tilting her head to the side, "_Hataru Roxanne_. You look powerful enough... We'd better go then. I won't make you take little Momomiya...yet. Unless --"

"Cherry Wand," Mew Cerise held out a glove-clad hand, a tall scepter with a large round orb on top appearing in it. At first, Ari looked confused, and then smiled wryly. Watching as the girl silently walked over to the helpless cat girl, her own golden eyes following every step. It obviously took Ichigo every ounce of her own strength to just lift her head, let alone move, as the brown haired panda-fused girl approached and then stopped at her side, looking down at the form blankly. All Ichigo could do was stare back, pleadingly, but also surprised at the same time.

"Roxi..." She said nervously, only to be followed by silence again. The two held stares for a long time, until Roxi held up weapon up, pointing it at a terror-stricken Ichigo. Ari's face was wild with delight.

"Yes, Hataru!" The alien shouted, grinning, "_Take her out_! Teach the traitor what the punishment is for lying... Show her how strong one with powers _really _can be!"

And still, Roxi said nothing, staring down at the pink-haired friend with an emotionless expression. Ichigo was terrified, her black ears laying flat against her head, her frail body trembling from all the hits she'd been taking. Defenseless. Unable to fight back. She could only watch, helplessly, as Roxi stood over her, wand pointed directly at her, silence thick in the air.

Then, just when it seemed she would open her mouth and say the words to finalize an attack on Ichigo, Roxi drew her wand back, bending over to look the girl straight in the eye. To her surprise, the look in Roxi's dark red eyes was soft and kind. She smiled a little bit, tilting her head so hair fell across her face.

"I forgive you, Ichigo-chan,"

Right away, Roxi in her Mew Cerise form straightened up, turning on the balls of her feet to face a stunned Ari. Before the alien could even show anger, she lifted the scepter and pointed it right in her direction, a stern look in her face. Once Ari snapped out of her shock, a dark frown crossed her pale face, and her eyes flickered.

"So _this_ is your decision," The blue haired alien growled, her once faux-innocent exterior turning to one of obvious menace, "To place your trust in a lying friend. So be it. It's a shame, too... I can see you have power that will_ so _be wasted..."

"I would _never_ betray a friend!" Roxi shouted back, her gloved hands clutching into fists, "Even if Ichigo-chan told some lies, it was to keep me safe. I believe her. Unlike _you, _Ari," Her eyes narrowed, "_You're_ the liar. _You're _the evil in all this, aren't you?"

Before the alien could even muster a sarcastic response, Roxi drew both her arms in, holding her Cherry wand upright and grasping the golden ring hovering around the orb , her fingers touching the jewelled surface. "Ribbon!" With a jerk of her hand, she pulled back, setting the ring into a speedy spin and generating some sort of light for the orb, "Cherry _Burst_!" A bright flash of red blasted from the tip of the scepter, straight for Ari. However, the alien caught on just quickly enough, and teleported out of the way, re-appearing at the panda-girl's side.

"So foolish. Maybe next time you'll choose your side more carefully," She swiped a dagger, pressing it against her neck, "I might consider giving you another chance..."

"No way!" Roxi yelled, whacking the alien with her scepter and stumbling out of her grasp, aiming it back towards the alien and summoning her energy.

"Roxi!" The brown haired girl looked over and saw a wounded and scratched up Ichigo standing up as straight as she good, retrieved Strawberry Bell in hand. She smiled. Roxi's face lit up. "Thank you. We'll do this together, okay?"

Roxi nodded happily. "Okay!"

In unison, the two transformed girls pivoted to face the alien, who looked a little baffled, but still fairly angry. Holding her daggers up together, the flames folded into eachother, forming a spark at the tips of her daggers. "You'll both fall together, then!" Ari shouted, wasting no time in blowing the flaming spiral forth.

"Wah!" Ichigo shrieked, grabbing Roxi's arm and leaping out of harms way, carrying her loyal friend along with her. Landing back on the ground perfectly (though with the not-so-catlike-Roxi a little shaken), Ichigo held out her Strawberry Bell and grinned at Roxi, who, once she caught her balance, outheld her Cherry Wand.

"Ready?"

Roxi smiled. She nodded. "Ready."

"Ribbon Cherry_ Burst_!" Roxi yelled, spinning the golden ring around the staff and directing the cherry coloured energy right for a cornered Ari.

"Ribbon Strawberry _Surprise_!" Right away, Ichigo flung her bell out, unleashing an upgraded version of her Check attack. The former alone caught Ari off guard; but now she was hit by two very powerful attacks, nearly knocking her to the floor in a heap. She'd adapted and grown immune to Ichigo's old attack. But these were both completely new ones, and they weakened her significantly.

Breathing heavily, she glared at the two girls, who stood unmoving. "Bad move," Was all she said before dissolving into the air.

For a minute, it was quiet.

"Yeah!" Roxi cheered, a look of relief washing over her face, as well as a wide smile. Turning excitedly to Ichigo, she held her arms out. "We did it, Ichigo-chan!"

Ichigo blinked and then smiled, nodding. "Yeah, we did," Her smile faded and she looked down at the ground for a moment, "Roxi... I meant what I said. I really am sorry that I... that I..."

"Heyy, I told you I forgave ya, didn't I?" Roxi waved it off in a hurry as if it were some unwanted scent, "You had your reasons, I know, Besides..." A devillish smirk appeared on her face, "I wouldn't want to have to share my powers, either,"

Ichigo grinned. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" She playfully put a hand on her hip, detransforming in a poof.

"What else, the awesome cat-likeness? Gah, Ichigo-chan, you're soo lucky. Pandas are like... _lazy_."

"That's not true. They're just..." Ichigo paused, tilting her head towards the ceiling in thought, "Just..."

"See?" With a lighthearted laugh, Roxi transformed back to normal as well, stowing her pendant away in her pocket. "Let's get our stuff, anyways. I bet my parents are anxious to hear about my trip."

"Oh? What about me?" Ichigo pretended to seem hurt as she followed the girl to retrieve their things.

"What about you?"

"Aren't you going to tell me about your fabulous Hawaii trip with Miwa?"

"...Nah."

"Why not!"

"Come on! You're the one with the super cat powers. You've had enough fun."

"Ahh, you're not on that again, are you?"

"Nyah! Fine then, I'll leave you behind!"

"Wah, Roxi! That's not what I meant! Wait up, don't leave me!"

--

_Next Chapter:_

_Now that Ichigo and the Blend Mews have completely joined forces, Ari's more vicious than ever. A few new truths are revealed, as is a new face - but does this mean a new ally, or a new foe? In a world where there is deception around every corner, it's becoming more and more difficult to see what's an illusion and what's reality. _


	9. Stumbles to Victory

**xuri: **Well hello my loyal readers. Ehh, I just wanted to say ahead of time that I have never liked this chapter much. And there will be a few like this, because when I was writing them, I totally had no idea how to fill them. This experience taught me that a planning sheet would have been really useful, so now I know how to better organized future fanfictions. Just thought I'd let you all know. And thanks again for all the reviews and comments and stuff. Much loved.

Applecake:  xD Wow, I so totally wish I could take credit for having these _written _in one day. No, no, all twenty six chapters are already finished. No way I could do a chapter per day, that would drive me crazy x3 All I'm doing is editting and putting them up day-by-day. Actually, these chapters took about a week each back when I was posting them on 4kids. Err, maybe a week-and-a-half on average, since a lot of the time it took twice as long to get everything written. Especially when chapters started getting brutally long...

SamKo: Um. What? xD No, no, no, _no_ Ari x Ryou. xD I probably shouldn't deny any couples, but... just... no. I was just saying that I luffles my Ryou-kun is all. xD He'll have enough of a harem as it is. No need to throw a psychotic alien in there. (Errr, at least _Ari_ the psychotic alien). Ooo, that would be cool, but that would be a little tricky to fit in with the plot 'n all. At the moment they just fight because it's means of survival. -nod nod-

Kamyra: Right, right, I know which part you're talking about. xD Hopefully we'll be getting to that soon. Yay. I'm glad people are enjoying Yumi, she was fun to mess around with. Little rays of sunnnshiiinnnee ;3

--

**Blend (chapter nine)**

**..stumbles to victory..**

"Roxiii, we didn't have any homework, right?"

Roxi paused. "Well, yeah, but oh well. Just a report, right?" Yumi giggled at the answer and proceeded to slurp up her vanilla milkshake.

"I'm really glad Shirogane closed early," Ichigo pointed out with a wide smile, stirring her straw idly around in her tall glass of lemonade, "I mean, its not often we get the cafe to ourselves. A nice treat."

"He did say it was a reward for us all being together now. Only one round of free drinks, though," Shrugging, Kona took a sip of her soda beverage, "Better than nothing, I guess."

"It's a miracle for Shirogane to give us anything at all! Ha, he's so cheap sometimes, but I agree. It was a nice gift, even if a little bit too normal." She smiled and jumped a little when Ryou suddenly appeared behind her, flicking her on the forehead.

"What was that, Strawberry?" He said with one eye open, but there was an amused smirk on his lips.

"Ah? Oh, nothing," Ichigo insisted quickly, turning back to her drink and taking a big, occupied gulp. There was a strange look on her face, and she sputtered the liquid from her mouth, slamming the glass back on the table and coughing in a panic after having nearly choked. The table erupted into bursts of laughter, and she just glared at them with a goofy grin on her face.

"Alright then, no need to get so excited," Ryou warned with a little smile, and then turned back towards the kitchen, "I'll get Keiichiro to bring you all a cake. Only one, though. Don't eat it too fast."

The girls giggled a little at a reddened Ichigo's expense, but calmed down within a few more moments and went back to a fairly normal conversation.

"So. We're all together now," Kikyo said quietly, her hand clasped lightly around her glass of cola. A wisp of brown hair fell across her eyes as she glanced up at the silent group of people, "What now?"

"Ahh, complicated!" Ichigo whined, thumping her head onto the table. The girls chose to ignore her.

"I guess...we..." Slowly, Kona tried to sort out her own thoughts, eyes drawing down into a slight frown as she thought. Even Roxi looked fairly stumped as she took an extended gulp of sparkling water. Silence passed itself around the table in a rather strange matter, keeping each of the girls from coming up with an answer to Kikyo's seemingly simple question.

"Ara! Simple question!" Yumi chimed after quite some time, standing happily to her feet, her short red hair bouncing around her small head, "We beat the aliens, neh? That's Tokyo Mew Mew's mission!" She was all smiles after announcing this, and the other members of the table couldn't help but join in.

"Of course!" Everyone nearly jumped out of their seats as Ichigo suddenly shot up, snapping her fingers, amber eyes lighting up excitedly. "Now that we have all our new members, we can focus on defeating Ari and Hanajima and whoever else came to earth to destroy it!"

"Yeah!" Both Kona and Roxi chimed in, and Kikyo gave a slight nod and a little smile. The quiet fell again, but it was a much more comforting quiet, as if none of them needed words to knew they all felt perfectly content at that moment. After all, they had a single goal to realize; they knew what to accomplish, how to accomplish it, and why they were accomplishing it. All they had to do now was _accomplish it. _And somehow, that was knowledge was comfort enough.

"Cheers, then," Tucking a lock of hair neatly behind her ear, Kikyo grasped her icy cold glass, holding it high above the table, "To us all being brought together. To the step closer we are to fulfilling a mission. To _Tokyo Mew Mew_."

Everyone around the table smiled and nodded, raising their glasses (empty or full) along with her. "Cheers!" They all cried happily, chinging their drinks together in unison and breaking into a cheerful chat together.

--

"Hau...morning...?"

Ichigo murmured and grumbled, as if trying to drown out the very sound of her alarm clock buzzing. She rolled on to her side, curling up into a ball and pulling her blankets over her face, knowing that her mother would inevitably be coming to her door soon to wake her up anyways. And since she was much too lazy to shut the alarm off, Ichigo simply lay there under a mess of covers, trying to ignore the constant '_BLEEEEEEEP BLEEEEEEP' _pounding against her eardrums.

Minutes passed. Several, in fact. Ichigo even guessed herself that she'd fallen back asleep, only to be awakened by a suddenly horrifying thought. Jolting upright, the girl turned her head promptly towards the alarm clock, which read a time far later than she should be able to see at home.

"Kyaaaah!"

In a sudden frenzy, the girl jumped out of bed, nearly falling flat on her face as she scrambled over to get her school uniform. Late? She couldn't be late for _school_! Hadn't they given her warnings about that? And the last thing she needed was another _detention_! Why hadn't okaa-san waken her up like she usually did when Ichigo was so lazy? Was this just her way of teaching the girl a lesson? Pulling her shirt on over her head, Ichigo did a hurried once-over on her hair and pulled it into a pair of pigtails, and grabbed her bag before darting down the hallway.

"Gonna be late! Can't be late! _Nonono_!" She sputtered in a hurry to herself as she practically jumped into her own shoes and yanked the door open. Before the crisp, autumn air could even greet her face, she heard a dazed voice behind.

"Hun..? Ichigo? Where are you going?"

"Okaa-san," Ichigo whined, turning to her half-asleep mother pleadingly, "Why didn't you wake me up? You know I need a better alarm clock, and that I can't be late for school, so why...Uh?"

Blinking, she tilted her head to the side, shifting her weight to her left foot so she could see into the kitchen. Ichigo frowned, question marks appearing above her head. "Tou-san? Why aren't you at work?" Very rarely did Ichigo get up to see her father still sitting at the table, so casually drinking his coffee. Especially when she was this late.

Then it dawned on her, but her mother, Sakura, pointed the not-so-obvious-to-Ichigo out first.

"Ahh, Ichigo, it's a Saturday! You can relax!" With a cheerful smile, Sakura, still clad in a fluffy bathrobe, reached over and hugged her frustrated daughter happily. "Now you can go back to sleep, just like you like. Or I can make you breakfast! Or we can just have a nice, relaxing day!" Sakura suddenly wandered off into the kitchen, chanting happily to herself about the many things that the family could do on a Saturday all because Ichigo thought it wasn't. Sweatdropping, the red haired girl heaved a sigh, half heartedly slipping her shoes off and setting her bag aside.

"Figures," She murmured to herself, and looked up at the clock. If it had been a school day, she'd be 10 minutes late now. It was lucky, she supposed, that it wasn't. Ichigo looked at the clock again.

"Ugh. I have a shift in an hour..."

Well, at least she wouldn't be late for _that_.

--

Oops.

Yeah, she was.

"Gahhhh! Why did I go to sleep _again_?" Ichigo scolded herself angrily as she dashed down the sidewalk, already changed into her bright red cafe uniform. This earned a few bizarre looks from whoever happened to be passing by, but she didn't care. Well, she didn't notice, either, but it was pretty much the same thing. As she rounded a corner (trying not to lose a shoe in the process), Ichigo continued cursing at herself. "Okaa-san tells you to go back to sleep. You _know_ that you have work in an hour. You go upstairs _only_ to get your uniform. But nooo, you have to _lie down_ because your bed looks _so_ comfortable! _UGH_!" She kicked a pebble, hard, sending it skidding across the street and completely losing her balance, falling flat on her face.

"Ouch..." She groaned after a moment of awkward silence. Ichigo sat up, rubbing her nose - was it broken? - and making sure she wasn't too badly scratched up. Her elbows were fairly scraped, and, though not broken, her nose felt a little bruised. That was about the extent of the damage. She groaned once she saw a few droplets of now-dried blood on the white portion of her right sleeve. Great.

Ryou wouldn't be too happy about_ that_.

Just as she was about to stand up, something blasted right past her ear. Ichigo's eyes widened, and she felt as if the wind had suddenly been knocked out of her. She knelt there. Stunned. Unable to move. Whatever that had been hadn't touched her, but if she'd gotten up one second sooner... Her amber eyes darted over to the pebble she'd kicked and tripped over. _If I wasn't such a clutz, that thing would have hit me!_

What that thing _was_? Ichigo had no idea. But she wasn't going to take any chances. Dropping back down on her knees, (_Ow! Do I really need more scrapes?) _she steadily began crawling forward towards where it had come from. Some noisy clatter in the distance became louder against her ears, so she followed it, slowly, cautiously, ready to duck out of sight at any moments notice. Something else flung by above, a few more times, but didn't even come close to Ichigo. Gaining more confidence, and becoming a little more afraid at the same time, she sped up, and eventually got up on her feet, crouch-running towards the source of the sound and shots as quickly and silently as she could.

Then she saw.

"_Aughhh_!" Kona screamed as she was pinned to the ground, a foot placed firmly on her chest to prevent her from moving. And still she struggled against the hold, crying out in pain as the heel was dug further into her skin.

"Stop squirming, _kitten two_," A crisp voice said, accompanied by a smirk. Ari slammed her foot down one last time, before kicking a limp and near unconsious body aside, moving on to Kikyo, Mew Kitsune. The alien drew her weapons, going for a direct charge without hesitation. Kikyo put up a strong front, holding her Fox Charm weapon out to block and advance her own attacks, but her arms and legs were badly scratched. This battle had been going on for a while.

Ichigo's eyes moved across the scene in horror. Kona hadn't been the only one brutally knocked down; Yumi layed sprawled out, detransformed in her cafe uniform, trying desperately to climb back up to her feet, but falling back down to the cold ground every time, her little body giving way to the intense pain. Hanajima was battling Roxi, and even only with illusions had dealt a fair amount of damage. Eyes drifting to the side, Ichigo caught sight of little plates and dishes, broken, scattered around the cafe porch. She was alarmed when she realized she had crawled right to the cafe. _A surprise attack... _The cafe opened in another hour. The others would have just gotten there minutes ago, to clean the tables and re-organize the menus. They wouldn't expect Hanajima and Ari to show up_... They caught them off guard. They caught them! _A sneak attack. Ichigo could imagine them appearing, hiding, and then lashing out at the instantly without so much as a warning..._and it worked_. Her friends were being taken down, beaten, while the aliens barely had a scratch on them...

_This... _Her teeth clenched together, and she felt the blood run from her face. Ichigo couldn't make her trembling legs move, backwards or forwards. The girl's breathing was shallow, and she could only watch. They'd see her, too. And she knew just as well as anyone that she couldn't take on both of them all on her own... Ichigo's mind whirled with fear, nearly to a blanking out point. _Move, move...I can't...move!_

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her by the arm. She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand messily covered that as well, pulling her roughly aside. Ichigo was too stunned to fight back, and was easily turned around to face her 'captor'. A tall boy with short, messy black hair and aquamarine eyes stood infront of her, signalling for her to be quiet after taking his hands away. Ichigo was reluctant, but shut her mouth, staring at him suspiciously for a moment. He did nothing else. A sudden cry caught her attention and she turned her head worriedly to the side, seeing the battle around the corner.

_You guys...How am I supposed to help?_

"You're Ichigo, correct?"

Having forgotten about the boy for a second, Ichigo jumped at the sound of his voice and whirled around. She was suddenly tense from all the stress, and more than a little freaked out that he knew her name, when she couldn't seem to place him at all. A complete stranger. He looked way to old to be from her school - maybe Kona knew him? - so that couldn't be it. While she tried figuring it out in her head, though, he seemed as if he were patiently waiting for an answer. Ichigo wasn't sure whether or not it would be a mistake.

"Uh, yeah. That's me..."

He just nodded, silently, and then glanced off to the side blankly, the white cloak around his shoulders shuddering in the breeze. _Hold on... is that a sword? _Ichigo caught a quick glance of what looked like a sheath before his cloak settled back down. As she pulled her eyes away from it, she found that his deep aqua ones were suddenly focused on her. She nearly jumped.

The boy was silent for a few more moments, before turning around. "Follow me," Was all that he said, and started walking. It took Ichigo a moment to catch on to the concept, but when she did she darted off behind him, still unsure why she not only trusted this stranger with her name, but also possibly something more. She was following him, after all. And there was no one else around. It suddenly occured to her in a panicked manner - _what if he's an alien, too?_

That slowed her down significantly, and then to a stop. She didn't want to fall into a trap. Why was she even going this way, anyways? She needed to help the others! Not bothering to say anything, the redhead turned back around and hurried back, making as little noise as possible.

"You," Before she got very far, that hand grabbed her arm again, though gently, and she nearly fell over from the suddenness of it. This time, though, Ichigo tried pulling away, only to have a firmer grip held on her, and a pull to face him. His once unreadable face was now stern, and she suddenly felt afraid.

"W-who are you?" She snapped, trying not to show her fear.

He said nothing, which only served to further frusterate her. Ichigo attempted to slip away, but he held a constant grip on her arm. Frowning, she faced him, and was about to say something else when he spoke in a low voice. "Does it matter? I am not an enemy, I promise you that. But I know you wish to help your friends, and I want to assist you."

The stranger said nothing more, as if it was a very reasonable explanation. Ichigo was hardly convinced, but, looking back over her shoulder again, knew she couldn't face Ari and Hanajima on her own, especially not if they had a bunch of beaten Mews at their feet and mercy. But what could he do? The redhead glanced at the stranger again warily. He looked human - no pointed ears or strange animal parts. Did he really have a sword? Would it be any good? Could she trust him with her secret?...

A high pitched scream rang through the air then, causing the hairs on Ichigo's neck to raise. She felt her fingers twitch in horror_. Roxi!_ Forcing the tears back, the girl knew she had to make a decision now. Ari hated her, that was clear enough; would she go all the way and seriously harm her friends, just to get back at her? The thought was horrifying enough. She _had_ to help.

"Fine," She choked, looking up at the boy with teary eyes, "Please, help me. Help my friends! I don't know... what to..." Her voice became almost unbearably shaky, and she had to stop talking there, staring down at the ground. Ichigo could only silently plead. _If anything happens to them... I -!_

"Then follow me. And do not run off this time," His voice was hard and blank, but a soft and comforting smile appeared briefly on his face for Ichigo's sake. He took off again, his cape swishing around as he turned, feet moving at a quick face. Ichigo didn't hesitate this time. She followed closely behind.

They went around the back of the cafe, picking up speed when Ichigo prompted him to do so. She was becoming more and more nervous about this. She hadn't heard a single sound from the others since Roxi's scream - were they alright? Had Ari taken them all away? Ichigo was too anxious about it. She didn't want to have to wait in fear to find out.

Then, he stopped, and held out an arm to tell Ichigo to as well. From there, he seemed extra attentive, as if listening and watching for something. The boy then, slowly, carefully reached to draw his sword, pulling it from the scabbard and holding it out infront of him. The blade was long, almost majestic looking, glinting in the sun. Ichigo was sure that, for a split second, she could even see some sort of power reflecting off of it. _Normal people don't just carry around swords... Does... does he have powers, too...?_

Putting a finger to his lips, as if signalling her to be quiet, the boy backed up against the roundish side wall of the cafe. He motioned for Ichigo to follow, which she did. Slowly, he began to creep across, sliding with his back against the wall, Ichigo doing the same. As they inched closer, they went slower, became more quiet and silent. Within a few more minutes, the scene came into view.

Ichigo nearly felt her knees collapse below her, nearly sobbed out in horror. The battleground was completely silent. All still alive, as far as she could tell, the four other mews lay sprawled out across the field, detransformed and weakened in their tattered Cafe uniforms. Not a single one moved, save the gentle movements of struggled breathing. And above them stood two tall figures, smirking in triumph. Ari had one scratch across her cheek. That was all. Hanajima seemed unscathed completely. Neither of them had any scars showing the battle had taken a toll on _them_ at all... Looking back at her fallen friends, Ichigo felt tears well up in her eyes. _Please be okay... I'm so sorry I couldn't help ---_

Ari and Hanajima were gloating, Ichigo could see that clearly enough. Circling around their fallen, like hawks, admiring their defeated pray. It made the girl's blood boil with anger, but seeing her friends hurt pained her even more. Then, in one more instant, everything seemed to slow down before her eyes, played out in intricate detail. Ari took one step with her left foot, just over an unconsious Kona, towards Yumi who looked like she was struggling between sleep and awake. Hanajima shifted slightly to the side. And then there was a rustle of white fabric, cutting into her own vision, as footsteps sounded loud in her ears.

"_Soyokaze Ken_!" Before Ichigo could even register what was going on, the stranger had leapt out from their hiding place, dashing at Ari and slashing with his sword. Ari was caught off guard, that enough was obvious, but she was able to duck to the side. That seemed besides the point, because as the blade slashed through the air, some sort of sharp current was formed, swerving to the side and hitting Ari in the gut.

"_Tsu_!" The blue haired alien shouted, falling forward onto the ground. Hanajima had a look of alarm on her face, and she summoned her Illusion Staff immediately. What good it would do Ari now, Ichigo couldn't tell. The alien was doubled over on the ground, clutching her gut in slowly fading pain. Gripping his sword again, the boy focused on the brown haired woman now, narrowing his eyes.

"_Raikou Ken_!" He shouted, changing the angle of the blade and shoving it into the ground. Hanajima seemed wary, not taking her eyes off him and gripping her staff protectively. Silence filled the area, almost to a point of eerieness. And then, without warning, a light sparked off, and Hanajima was surrounded by a field of visible electricity.

"_Huaaa_!" She wailed out, her hand automatically losing grip on the weapon as she fought to force the electricity away from her body.

Ichigo watched in awe and fear, still frozen up against the wall. While both aliens were down for the count, at least for the moment, the boy turned around swiftly, drawing his sword from the ground back into his hands.

"Ichigo! _Now_!" He called. It took the girl a brief moment to snap out of her fear-ridden trance, but she nodded. He knew, assuming he was talking about her transforming. How? She had no idea. But he'd proved himself an ally, someone she could trust. For now. Beginnning her run out and away from the cafe wall, Ichigo drew out her pendant.

"Mew Mew Strawberry! Metamorpha_-sis_!" Light of a pink shade wrapped around her body, dissapating just as quickly and leaving the cat girl in her pink-oriented attire. Within another second, she'd summoned her strawberry bell, holding it in her hands. Instead of approaching the weakened aliens directly, she stopped in the center of her downed companions, looking at all of the pleadingly.

"Wake up, _please_!" She whispered, hugging her weapon to her chest, trying to summon her magical energy forth. At first, nothing happened. And then, starting from her very center, she felt the warmth travelling through her body, filling her up with a hopeful feeling before it reached her fingertips, flowing into her heart shaped bell weapon, brimming the power into her hands. Ichigo held it more tightly until the light burst forth from it, trailing up into the sky and then trickling down, almost like a pink shaded rain, sprinkling down on her fallen comrades gently. Ichigo felt significantly drained, and she hoped it had worked. Biting her lip, the girl opened her eyes.

Ari, unfortunatly, was back up for the count. She looked like she'd gotten over the initial blow, but was more steady looking than before, with hate burning fierce in her eyes. On the other hand, the girls were moving again, just like Ichigo had hoped. It brought a light smile to her face. The first up on their feet was, undoubtedly, Kikyo, who took a moment to absorb her surroundings. Only a moment. Then a strange look of alarm appeared on her face, then anger, and she was back in her Mew Kitsune form again. Kona and Roxi were up next, nearly in perfect unison, too. They took a few moments more to realize and remember the situation they were in, during which Ari took the chance to materialize and brandish her dagger weapons. Yumi didn't even open her eyes first. She just transformed on the ground, and was up on her feet instantly, weapon clutched tightly in hand.

"Ha! See, you can't take us down so easily!" Mew Framboise taunted and stuck out her tongue, before hopping back and prepping for an attack on Ari. Hanajima was still recovering after the lightning faded away. Kona seemed to realize the sudden bursts of energy they'd all recieved, and turned around, for the first time seeing the pink haired girl.

"Ichigo..." She said softly, and blinked, then smiled. "Thank you." Kikyo and Roxi acknowledged this as well, before turning back on Ari. Ari's attention, however, was focused solely on the boy.

"Who are you?" She barked angrily, knuckles white as she clenched the sais in her fists.

Calmly, the boy took a step to the side, and Ichigo didn't expect him to answer. The other girls got questioning looks on their faces, wondering when all of these strange events took place and how they could possibly miss them. Ichigo turned back to Ari as well, ready to call out an attack, when she heard a voice.

To her surprise, it was the boy. "I am the Elemental Swordsman," He said in a clear, mystery-hinted voice. In complete silence, he shifted his left foot, focused his aquamarine eyes forward and held his sword out infront of him, "And I am here to destroy you both."

This was not the answer Ari wanted to hear, obviously. Her golden eyes flickered with rage, her jaw giving a noticeable twitch and the knives in her hands bursting into dangerous blue flame. "Bad choice," She growled, narrowing her eyes and charging forward with a loud cry. The alien completely ignored Ichigo and the others, dashing past them, only wanting to slice at the swordsman.

Without so much as a strained look, he intercepted her attack with his sword easily. The clash of metal rang loud, and he moved again, blocking another slash. Her anger seemed to grow as her energy depleted, and with a cry she threw herself forward to strike.

"_Hikari_!" The swordsman bellowed, his sword slicing through the air effortlessly, bathed in a bright light. Metal contacted metal once again with a loud ringing _clang_. Ari winced noticeably as her grip on her own weapons wavered. The boy broke contact, and brought down for another swing and hit. This time, Ari did intercept, but one of her daggers flew out from her hand and skidded against the ground. The one left was barely able to hold up the solid and eye-burning sword, and her body eventually fell back against the force, hitting the ground hard, a lick of light twisting painfully around her arm. The alien let out a cry, her hand flexing away from the sai's handle as she tried to somehow direct the burning energy away from herself. The elemental swordsman, on the other hand, looked like he was finished. The light surrounding his sword disapated, and he stepped backwards, away from the battle, giving a light nod towards Ichigo.

She nodded back. "Thank you," The pink haired girl whispered with a light smile, and then turned back to Ari and Hanajima. The latter was up on her feet, steady, but still looked fatigued. And Ari... Ari was struggling just to sit up, against the pain of her scratches and bruises.

A frown crossing her face, Ichigo positioned herself beside the other girls as they all summoned their weapons, striking ready battle stances. For a moment, all was silent. Then, shifting from her pained position on the ground, one alien was able to move. Ari straightened up, with much difficulty, holding a single flaming sai out in her hand. Her face, beaten up as it was, bore an intense look, her golden eyes unfaltering. The grass shifted in the breeze. Leaves rustled uncomfortably atop their safe branches. Not a breath disturbed the air between the two sides.

And then, shattering it like a sheet of glass, Ari stormed forward, letting out a cry of rage. At first, nothing happened. Then, suddenly rising to attention, Yumi was the first to make a move. Still with a cheery air, she hopped back a few paces, holding her small-handled bell with a crooked arm. She waited. Ari was up in front within another second, but the horse-fused girl was ready.

"Ribbon Raspberry _Dazzle_!" Mew Framboise rang out, swinging her arm horizontally across. From the tiny bell shot out a bright peachy light, hitting the charging figure head out. The impact not only stopped the alien, but sent her flying back, hitting the ground with a crackling thud. She winced in noticeable pain, but forced herself back up on her feet.

"You..." Gritting her teeth, she spat on the ground, small droplets of blood forming above a scratch on her left cheek. She was wounded. Badly. But Ari wasn't about to give in. "You'll pay for that!" She cried, and then tilted her blue flaming dagger out, aiming for a projectile attack.

Kona jumped in with her Blossom Bell Bell. "Ribbon Blossom _Shine_!" The same kind of light projected from her circular weapon, engulfing Ari once more in a field of pain. The only difference, however, was that the light was speckled with energy-powered cherry blossoms, which became sharp under the pressure and cut up the alien's arms. She was sent back again, slammed up against a tree and pinned by the sakura. Normally, she would have been able to escape, no sweat... but the alien had a significantly lowered energy level. It took all her effort just to fight back.

The girls were now extra wary, all focused on making sure Ari didn't try to launch an attack forward. After the blue haired alien managed to at least catch her breath, she let out an exasperated groan, trying to pry her body away from the tree. The boosted cherry blossoms served almost as throwing pins, attaching bits of her clothing straight to the tree so she was practically immobile.

Only, Roxi's eyes weren't exactly on Ari at that moment. Red-glowing, glinting in the direction of Hanajima, who was standing suspiciously still. She felt uneasy about it. The brown haired alien didn't move, or even utter words. Her face was plain, unmoving, void of any emotion, the arm holding her staff not tense at all. And then it flickered. Roxi blinked. Hanajima had actually flickered, and she'd seen right through her for an instant. Mew Cerise glanced to the side, strands of light brown hair falling over her face. None of the other girls noticed. They were so intent on holding Ari back, they weren't even paying attention to Hanajima..._Hanajima_. Was she even there? Roxi looked closer, narrowing her eyes. _Projection_. It dawned on her slowly, as she stared, the figure completely still, even her eyes not shifting. Hands clasped tightly around her Cherry Wand. _If that's only a projection...if she's not really there...then where...?_

Taking a light step backwards, Roxi swivelled around. Widening, her eyes caught on to a wavery figure, hovering menacingly over an away faced Ichigo, face drawn in concentration, the Illusion Staff held high and about to be brought down hard against the cat girl's head.

"Oh _no you don't_!" With barely a breath in between, Roxi jolted forward, practically forcing her weapon into the opposing force's side. "Ribbon Cherry _Burst!" _The instant those words left her mouth, energy blasted from the golden ring of her wand, straight into Hanajima's side. Direct contact. The effect was so immediate that the alien nearly passed out, unable to breath for a few seconds with the wind knocked out from under her. Hanajima fell limp to the ground, not moving for several moments. The faux '_projection' _disapeared.

This served as a wake up call to all the other girls. Casting only surprised glances over at the fallen-and-unseen Hanajima and the panting Roxi, who was backing off to join the others again, the Mews returned to their stance, this time with a more alert outlook. As Roxi recovered from the attack, and Hanajima attempted to get up, Kona and Yumi leapt forward to keep the older alien contained. Ichigo stood off at the sidelines, suddenly confused as to the whereabouts of the 'elemental swordsman' - he had slipped out of sight.

Ari grunted lightly to herself, as if she could suddenly breath now that the attention of the 5 'super girls' had been temporarily lifted off her. Gathering her strength, she ripped one pinned arm away from the tree, then a leg, and focused on freeing the rest of her. The moment the alien girl was no longer attached, however, she froze in place instead of launching an attack.

"Stop," Kikyo said icily, eyes glowering in the unmoving's direction. Ari didn't move - her golden eyes set focus on the weapon Mew Kitsune held in hand. The one called _'Fox Charm', _with a crossbow-like appearence, aimed straight for her. The tip, a gem heralding energy that could be called forth at any moment, pointed Ari for a dead on target. The alien glared, but made no move. She knew this girl had power. It was as if her fingers were positioned right for pulling a deadly trigger in her direction. The question was - what to do about it?

Ari grimaced. She couldn't well just keep standing where she was. They'd give up on Hanajima and go after her all together at some point. But moving in for an attack could be just as fatal. Kikyo refused to move from the space on which she stood, refused to falter in her aim. Still, the alien reasoned with herself - there was a more likely chance in her dodging an attack from one girl than an entire team of them. _Chance._ Her grip silently tightened around the handle of her solitary weapon.

"Don't throw commands at _me_!" Ari shouted in retort, running out from her stilled position, taking a skillful step to the side out of Kikyo's current range. Her fist and sai burst into flickering blue flame, and she reeled her arm back, aiming for a deadly throw at the Mew girl.

Kikyo had time to smirk. "Too _slow," _She said plainly. True enough, she was quick footed enough to mimick Ari's footwork, without so much as a fox ear's twitch. Once the alien was back in her sight, within seconds she was aimed back up at her. Before the knife could even leave Ari's fingertips, Mew Kitsune shouted out, "Ribbon Kahidra _Blast_!". The sudden collection of energy burst from the jewelled tip of her weapon, flying towards the alien and swallowing her whole in an abyss of pain.

The single dagger fell from her hand, clattering against the ground and sliding far away from the impact. Ari was still on her feet, but she looked frozen and stunned from the attack. Her hands were empty. She was defenseless.

Breathing heavily, Ari refused to move from where she stood. Maybe it was because, plainly enough, she _couldn't. _Hanajima was nearly out cold, unable to muster the strength to even move from where she was crouched down, shakily taking in air. Kikyo, satisfied with her attack, darted a few steps backwards, turning her head to glance at Ichigo.

"Your turn."

She smiled a bit, and then turned to face the aliens. Ichigo did the same, her eyes focused on Ari in deep concentration. Then, without another moment of hesitation, she held her bell up high, gathering her energy there, never once lifting her pink eyes from where Ari stood perfectly still. The words left her lips soon after. "Ribbon Strawberry _Surprise_!"

The light wrapped all around Ari, and she had a pained expression on her face, though no sound came from her opened mouth. It was if she were trying to scream, but couldn't. The others watch as the power seemed to nearly tear her apart, drain all her energy, leave her an empty shell. The light faded. Ari dropped to her knees, gasping for air, her weak body trembling from all the attacks.

For a moment, Ichigo paused. She really did look beaten. It probably wasn't a trick, she reasoned with herself. She probably wouldn't be able to stand, let alone launch a close up attack without warning. Her bell disapearing, Ichigo raced up to the alien, and grabbed her by the collar.

"Ichigo-" Kona started, and then stopped. They were all silent as the cat girl lifted Ari to her feet so she could look her straight in the eye. The expression on Ichigo's face was hard, unforgiving, but at the same time she looked like she wanted to cry.

"_Why_ do you keep doing this to us?" She demanded suddenly, her own voice shaking as she addressed the scratched up alien. "We made peace with Kishu and Pai and the others. _Why_ did you and Hanajima come here? _Why_ won't you just _leave us alone_?"

The outburst caught the other girls by surprise. They had never heard about the battles Ichigo had gone through before - they'd known there were other aliens, other mews, but Ichigo had never really explained the situation to them. And now it seemed like it brought the girl a lot of painful memories. They had no place in this argument - they couldn't possibly understand.

Ari did nothing. That is, she _said_ nothing. While not a word escaped her lips, a wry smile spread across them, her golden eyes filled with mischief and suffering at the same time. There was a deep scratch at the very corner of her mouth, giving her smile a twisted, crooked look that further deepened the expression on her face. Then, with no attempts to fight back, Ari said simply in a hushed and weak voice -

"You _stole him _from me."

"What?" Ichigo's eyes widened. What was she talking about? Who was _him_? Her mind went over anything she'd said. She knew it was there, somewhere in her head, but she couldn't bring it up to surface... she couldn't remember if Ari had ever mentioned -

While Ichigo was momentarily distracted with her own thoughts, Ari grunted, pushing the girl away and stumbling backwards. She rubbed her sore neck with one hand, and, without another word, disapeared. Hanajima had vanished, too. Ichigo didn't move for a moment, and then lowered her hand, sighing and transforming back into her cafe uniform. As she turned around to head back to the group, she murmured to herself, "I don't understand..."

The others turned back to normal, as well, moving towards the redhead. For a while, no one said anything. Ichigo had been the first to question the alien's motives, and now it was heavy on all of their minds. Silence. And then, Kona was the first to break it.

"You know," She said slowly, looking up at all the girls with a quiet voice, "This is the first time we've _all _fought. Together."

And while this was followed by more silence, it also brought forth some thoughtful looks. And then smiles. And then more words.

"You're right," Ichigo said with a smile, nodding and looking at all the others cheerfully, "This was the new Tokyo Mew Mew's first battle. And we succeeded, all together."

"Yeah!" Chimed in Yumi, throwing her arms up into the air. "Nothing can beat us now!"

"Because we're a team," Roxi added, joining in with a smile. Kikyo nodded in silent agreement.

"Come on, the Cafe opens in half an hour," The brown-ponytail girl pointed out with a shrug, putting a hand on her hip. Then, with a little glance to the yard, she added, "We've got a lot of cleaning to do."

Roxi giggled light heartedly. "Uh-huh, Kikyo-chan! Come on, we'd better get started!" She grabbed both Yumi and Ichigo by the wrists and needlessly dragged them over to the porch, Kikyo and Kona following behind. Even though there were still mysteries about all this, and so much they didn't see or understand, like the Elemental Swordsman's appearence, or Ari and Hanajima's reasons for attacking them, it would be different from now on. And as Roxi led them all towards the cafe so they could get to work, Ichigo couldn't help but smile to herself, her amber eyes glittering in momentary happiness.

_Because we're a team._

_--_

_Next Chapter:_

_Everyone's working to the same goal, but there are bound to be obstacles along the way. Ari is one of them. And now that her dignity as a fighter is slowly being wittled away, she has revenge on her mind. And what better way to cast revenge than to exploit the weaknesses of someone you care for? _


	10. Nightmarish Realities

**xuri: **Hello hello. :3 Remember what I said about upcoming cliffhangers? Well, try these next few chapters on for size. Aren't you excited now? Huh? Huh:D And keep those reviews coming, I love you all!

SamKo: xD Didn't Ao no Kishi/Blue Knight have a sword? But meh. Yay swords. And, not to be meanie-spoiler-authoress, but there's one more character to come with a sword. Yaaay swords. x3 And yes, Masaya plays a few important roles in upcoming chapters. In fact, he gets some big mention in this one. At the moment, he's just too busy with his studies for poor-poor Ichigo-chan. ;3 And yes. Ryou x Ari. Amusing. xD No, but seriously. He literally has a harem going on here in later chapters. o-o Poor Ryou...

I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew, or the Elemental Swordsman. Totally, at least. Yay me.

--

**Blend (chapter ten)**

**..nightmarish realities..**

They'd won the battle. But Ichigo suffered even so.

The next few days after the encounter, she was plagued by nightmares of all kinds. At first, they resembled those she'd had before the re-banding of Tokyo Mew Mew - the classic voices of Mint and Lettuce and the others, taunting at her, cursing her and telling her to _'fight back'_. She had learned to deal with them. Not to the point of finding joy or comfort in the voices of her far-away friends, but better than waking up with tears in her eyes. Eventually, Ichigo could even ignore them, block them out and get a _decent _sleep. They didn't matter.

Then came the ones about Ari.

At first, Ichigo thought the old dreams had finally gone away - she'd won her battle with them. In her dream world, she couldn't hear or see a thing. The girl was especially startled, then, when she heard her voice echoing thoughts around her, her voice bouncing off the black invisible walls.

_Why do you hate me?..._ It asked in a meek voice. _What have I ever done to you? What have I ever taken? Said? Thought? Implied?.. I didn't even know you... How can you already hate me? _Anger began building in the voice, slowly, gradually piling to a half-shout_. What have I done to deserve this? You want to cause me pain. You want to destroy me. Why? Why do you hate me? Why are you doing this?_

It sounded like she could keep shouting, questioning to the darkness forever. And then she fell silent. Completely, eerily silent. Ichigo thought it sounded even more disturbing, the absense of the sound compared to the shouts and voices. Words smashed through, clear, drawn out from a memory, every word searing into her mind like some burning pain.

_You took him from me._

_Who?_ Ichigo wanted to ask in desperation. No words came. Ari's voice faded away, and the darkness began to swirl around before her dream-trapped eyes. Breaking through the veil of complete nothingness, a tall figure stepped forward, walking slowly and calmly. As it raised its human head, light glinted off golden eyes, revealing a pale, emotionless face. It became shadowed over by dark blue hair, another flicker of light revealing Ari's body, daggers clenched gently in her gloved hands. No sound but her echoing footsteps filled the air.

Ichigo tensed in her sleep. Without a word, the alien figure continued her approach, never quite coming any closer, even though her feet kept moving against the ground. Her mouth, the only feature on her face that was not covered in shadow, was drawn in a tight and emotionless line. Dark feeling seemed to glow all around her, showing of hate and ill feeling.

_Why?_ Ichigo's wispy voice asked the darkness, fear lingering in that one word. _What did I do...how did I --_

_You took him from me!_ The voice boomed. Suddenly, the wind picked up ferociously, whipping about the scene violently. Ari's hair and loose parts of her clothing waved lightly, at first, and then broke into an all out storm. Her hair whipped about her face, her golden eyes wide and stricken with anger. The entire world seemed to shake before Ichigo's eyes as the alien lifted her arms, the sais, the vision only blurring with each movement. Blue flame wrapped itself all around Ari, all around the perimeter of the vision, flailing wildly with the intensity of the wind that fed it. **_You took him from me!_**

Ichigo woke up.

--

And she was in a funk. No one was really surprised. Ichigo's mood swings became a normal feature of Daikan Junior High; even those who didn't know her recognized these events. Roxi and Cherri completely gave up, leaving her to wander the halls with glassy eyes. Even Moe and Miwa couldn't get a rise out of her. A few words, yes ("I'm fine, thank you," Ichigo murmured the fifth time that conversation) but not a perky and energetic response as usual.

And as usual as this was for her, as of late at least, there was an odd difference. She was far more alert, in tune with the world, even though she spent the entirety of every class staring at her chair leg or swinging a pencil back and forth like a pendulum. Ichigo nearly aced a quiz in History without even realizing it. Teachers made a point of calling on her during debates, mostly because she was most obviously _not_ paying attention, but she murmured the correct answer every time and went back to her absent activities. It was as if this state of mind was actually the best Ichigo had ever had academically - though the words '_you took him from me' _were all that flashed through her head, she somehow managed to absorb all else better than ever. _How_? Do you _really_ want to know?

Her friends gave up on her early on in the day. Either they hoped she could get better on her own, or they knew any efforts would be a waste of time. Ichigo's 'funks' were never short lived, and this one was more bizarre than any preceeding it. Since she was under the watchful (and so confused) eyes of the professors for the day, they knew she wouldn't do anything like accidentally step off a cliff or something. But the minute the bell rang, they were on her heels instantly. It's a friend's responsibility to make sure other friends don't accidentally step off cliffs, after all.

"I'm fine, thank you," Ichigo mumbled, stifling a yawn and cocking her head to the side, staring straight ahead.

Roxi sighed in exasperation. "Ichigo-chaaan, I asked you if you had a textbook I could borrow! There's a project we're doing, but ours don't --"

"I'm fine, thank you..."

"Ichigooo!" Yumi elbowed the girl in the ribs. She winced. The shorter girl grinned in triumph, and pointed sheepishly with a finger while looking at Roxi. "Ara, see? Ichigo's not a zombie..." She looked ready to jab the girl in the ribs again.

"Yumi-chan, don't!" Roxi insisted in a hurry, dragging her friend aside so she stood between the tranced-out girl and the elbow-jabbing fiend. With a concerned glance at Ichigo - who looked more dazed now than distracted - Roxi put a hand to her temple, just knowing this could end up giving her a migraine if she got too caught up in it.

"Hmm..." She pondered to herself, glancing off to the side with keeping a watchful eye on Yumi, who was humming innocently. Then, Roxi's eyes lit up briefly, and she heaved a light sigh. _Buttons to push... _"I think Aoyama-sempai said he was coming by the cafe today. Exams are over, after all - "

"Aoyama-kun?..." Ichigo said in a spacey voice, her head suddenly snapping upright. Roxi managed to hide a grin. Aoyama Masaya - Ichigo had stopped talking about him for a while, it had been a quiet sort of silence, but before that she always went on about how _amazing_ and _perfect _he was, and how lucky _she_ was. Lately though, the talk swerved more towards '_What's wrong with me? Why doesn't he like me any more_?' and eventually led to more of Ichigo moping around for a few hours before recovering. Roxi had never personally met him, but from all the ramblings Ichigo directed about him, she could probably pick the guy out in a crowd within seconds. She'd thought that, maybe, whatever her problem was right now, it could be diverted with thoughts of her '_long lost boyfriend'_. Even now, it seemed like the fog over Ichigo's face was clearing up.

Once they arrived at the Cafe, Ichigo said nothing, but darted off to change into her uniform. There was an eagerness in her step. Roxi and Yumi exchanged amused glances, but headed off themselves to prepare for the night shift. Kona was already out, taking down chairs and mopping up floors. Keiichiro was inquired to by Yumi about Kikyo, and he explained that she asked for the day off.

"I believe she wanted to spend time with Koji-san," He said with a light smile, "Somewhere other than the Cafe for once. I'm sure you four will be all right without her just today."

Ichigo certainly was. She still wasn't chirpy as normal, but she no longer had a glazed and absent look on her face. Instead, she went from duty to duty, arranging chairs and scrubbing tables with a simple smile on her face, her eyes drawing over to the door every few minutes. She didn't say a word. Ryou watched curiously from the other end of the room.

"What's with her today?" He wanted to know. Kona shrugged.

"No idea," She sighed, twisting her hair around her fingers absently, "Roxi said it's better than she's been all day, though." With a frown, the girl looked sideways at Ryou. "I wonder what's bothering her? It might have something to do with yesterday's battle, but that was _hardly_..." Her voice trailed off.

Ryou raised an eyebrow. He didn't look concerned, exactly, though Kona caught a few worried glances from him to the wandering redhead. It looked like he just seemed interested, as if it were a research project of some sort. He faced Kona, but his blue eyes shifted over to everyone's favourite Strawberry girl. "And what exactly _happened _during yesterday's battle?..."

About ten minutes later, the '_Open_' sign was flipped over, and a cluster of people entered the building, being seated right away. It seemed busier than usual, mostly because they were short one hand, but nothing too difficult popped up. Ichigo started looking more startled, and approached Roxi every so often.

"When did he say he was coming?" She would ask, almost like a demand. Roxi always hesitated.

"Wellll..." The brunette tapped a finger thoughtfully to her chin, eyes directed at the ceiling, "6...or maybe 7? Something like that. Or maybe in..." She made it obvious she was checking the nearest clock, "..._10 minutes _or so..."

And Ichigo was off again, her cheery-meter sliding up a notch as she darted around the cafe, giving people their (correct) orders and taking their empty plates away again. Every few minutes, she would ask again, only to be given about the same answer, just adjusted for the current time. It didn't seem to matter. Ichigo was so excited about spending time with Masaya again that she didn't care whether it was a lie or not.

"Aoyama-kun's going to be here soon," She walk talking to herself at about 6:30, while she was on dishwashing duty. And not in a quiet voice, either. "Akasaka-san and Shirogane let Kikyo off to spend time with her boyfriend. And she _always_ spends time with him. They'd have to understand then, if I haven't been with Aoyama-kun for almost a month and just want a few hours to catch up." The girl nodded to herself, setting a clean-dried plate on the growing stack as she moved to scrub the rest. "That'll work. Oh, Aoyama-kun... AoyamakunAoyamakunAoyamakun. When we get Winter vacation, I'm going to spend so much time with you, and we'll be happy, and then maybe before Summer vacation we'll have time together again, and we can enjoy it watching the sunset or eating a romantic dinner or anything you feel like doing, because..."

Her dreamy voice wafted through the empty kitchen, carrying easily to the ears of the blonde who was leaned against the doorframe, watching her go through the dishes and chatter to herself about the many happy things she and Masaya could do together once they had the time. Quietly enough so she couldn't hear, Ryou sighed to himself, careful to make it sound more of annoyance than of gentle despair.

"Always on about him," He mumbled, his blue eyes unmoving from the spot Ichigo shuffled about, "And it's always _him_." Shaking his head silently, Ryou went back to his relaxed position, taking up staring at the ceiling instead for a few minutes.

Kona frowned. As she continued to mop up the area around the kitchen doorway (there had been an unfortunate cake spill on Yumi's account earlier), she listened, almost without realizing, to the mutterings of her young employer. And she heard the hint of jealousy. So small, so hidden behind his thick and uncaring words, that no one who hadn't been listening for it wouldn't have heard at all. Kona had started listening days ago, and felt a little of that_ 'jealousy' _stirring up in her chest lately, as well.

"Just like _you're_ always on about_ her_," She breathed, her voice a thin, inaudible wisp. Kona stepped away from the door to put the mop and bucket away, "And I'd suspect you always have been..."

The clock ticked along, and even though Ichigo was sure to poke her head out the kitchen door every other second, she saw no signs of her dark haired dream boat. And even though she got the same explanation from Roxi, over and over, it started having a less positive effect on her. In fact, by 7:25, she was frowning, pacing about in the empty space between the tables once most of the customers had left for home.

"Wuah!" Suddenly, she stopped, right in the middle of the room, her head snapped up and eyes wide at some occured idea. Her hands went to her face as she broke out into a quiet panic. "W-what if he's waiting for me at Inohara Park! I mean, he told Roxi he was coming here, but what if it was a secret meeting and I was supposed to read between the lines and figure it out for myself even though I'd expect him to come here but that's what everyone else would expect and _Oh my God! _Maybe he had a whole romantic super-secret night all planned out and now I'm missing it because I'm so_ stupid _waaah!"

"Ichigo-chan?" Roxi appeared beside her friend, who took no notice. She started ringing her hands, continuing to ramble on about the possibilities as a result of her dull intellect. Sweatdropping, the brunette raised a hand and waved it infront of Ichigo's eyes. "Ichigo-chan?" She repeated, and then again more loudly. And still Ichigo acted as if she were the only person in the room, depicting her plans to make Masaya forgive her for being so dense. Sighing rather loudly, Roxi put a hand to her forehead. "_ICHIGO-CHAN_!" Boomed Roxi in a loud voice, making even Yumi nearby jump in surprise.

For a minute, it looked like that had actually gotten Ichigo's attention. She blinked her amber eyes several times, lifting her head and standing perfectly still. Roxi smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but was promptly (and rudely) interupted. "Oh! Maybe Aoyama-kun's still there! If I hurry, then, I might have a chance to apologize, but still spend some time with him..." Her eyes shifted glance to the clock. "I've got to go quick! Roxi-! Ah," For the first time, the redhead noticed the uniform clad girl standing there with a raised eyebrow. Ichigo tilted her head. "When did you get here?" Roxi's eye twitched. Ichigo didn't notice. "Oh, well, I need to go. Tell Shirogane for me, okay? Bye bye!" Before Roxi could even protest, Ichigo was out the door, running as fast as her restricting uniform would allow.

Roxi watched, speechless, as the doors slowly swung to a moveless shut, the clop of Ichigo's cafe shoes fading off into the distance. Ichigo really _was_ obsessed with him... Roxi noted this to herself, figuring it was something a friend really should know. Then, shaking her head, she turned to see Yumi perched beside her with a plate of fresh baked sweets.

The small girl smiled up at her, holding the platter out to Roxi. "Want a cookie?"

--

As she raced down the pathway, trying not to trip (Ichigo was prone to doing things like that), Ichigo suddenly realized how she was dressed. Masaya would be disapointed if, not _only _was she late, but still in her work uniform. Her spirits fell. She could just see him now, his disapointed frown as he turned away, leaving her alone.

_"I really thought our relationship meant more to you...But I guess all I am is an unimportant pasttime."_

"Nooo! Aoyama-kun!" Ichigo whimpered, skidding to a stop and holding out her arm as the vision poofed away. She had a fresh change of clothes in her backpack back at the Cafe. It wasn't anything fancy, but still much better than her school or work uniform. He might be able to let it slip if she was at least dressed _well. _On that thought, she took only a second to catch her breath, whirled around, and made a straight line for a return to the building.

She got two steps closer when something rammed her hard in the side.

"Oof!" Ichigo was knocked clear off her feet, tumbling to the cement and rolling a few paces against the impact. She lay limp for a moment, the breath stolen from her lungs. Once she managed to gasp, she forced her trembling body to move, and tried to push herself up so she could see what had hit her. This time, something slammed her gut, causing her to cry out in pain and fall forward, curled up in a defensive ball as she tried to subside the pain.

"So?" Able to tilt her head just right, Ichigo saw Ari towering over her, a cruel and unforgiving look drawn on her pale face. She took a step forward, glaring down at the human, sneering wickedly. "Are you going to even fight back, Ichigo-neko?" Ari taunted slyly, and then lifted her knee to deliver another hard kick to the girl.

--

All the customers had dissapated, so Kona, Roxi and Yumi were finishing up on cleaning duty. The mess left behind was unusually abundant. And now, without _both_ Kikyo and Ichigo to help, it was a real chore.

Kona, resting a hand on her hip, sighed as she lazily inspected the table arrangement. "Geez, boyfriends. Just because they have them, they get an excuse to get off work." She shut her eyes, and then opened an icy blue one again, "And leave the mess for the rest of us to clean up," She added seriously.

Just shrugging it off, Roxi checked the chair seats before lifting them up and setting them neatly on the tabletops. "Ichigo's just excited. Aoyama-sempai has been busy, and she's always so sad that she never gets to see him... Now I guess she got a chance, and she was really eager to take it."

Yumi had been reasonably quiet up until then, having been given the task by Keiichiro to clean the windows, but turned her head curiously to the conversation going on. "Hm? Roxi? But didn't you _make up _the story about Ichigo's boyfriend coming over?"

Roxi sweatdropped. "Oh. Yeah. Well, she's going to be awfully disapointed if she runs all over town and he isn't there..."

"Don't you think," Kona spoke as she dragged a table a little farther to the left, "that she'll only be more depressed when she finds out he's gone?" Roxi just stared at her blankly. Then, she blinked and hung her head, groaning in frusteration.

"Ahhh... But I didn't think she'd take it so _seriously_!"

In an effort to make Roxi realize how she'd messed up the situation even more, Kona opened her mouth. Before any more than the word 'Well,' could escape her lips, there was a long thump against the outside wall. Yumi and Roxi both jolted in place, and Kona blinked in surprise.

"What was that?" Yumi sputtered, scrambling over to the other two girls. Neither of them replied. They didn't even move, having absolutely no idea what had caused the noise.

_Thump._ Again. This time even louder than before. And within a split second, it was followed by a strangled cry, just decibals away from being a high pitched scream. The word 'Metamorpha-_sis_' could be heard through the thick walls. Roxi's eyes widened.

"Ichigo-chan!" Before the other two could even process this, the brunette was out the door in a panic, her long hair flying around behind her. The doors started swinging shut when Kona and Yumi realized what was going on, and they too dashed outside, a look of fear flickering in all of their eyes.

Roxi screamed.

Ichigo grunted and struggled to her feet, nearly losing her grip on her Strawberry Bell. She'd only been in her Mew form for a few seconds short of a minute, but already her costume was tattered and scratched up. There was a colouring bruise on her cheek, any skin visible covered completely in scratches. Some were worse than others. And she swayed a little, blinking as she tried to keep from falling over - let alone fight or defend herself from Ari. The alien clearly saw the other girls, but also just as clearly did not care.

"Come to join the fun, kittens?" She twirled a knife idly in one hand, floating about a foot above the ground. Not one hair on her head was out of place. Not one scratch decked her smooth, perfectly pale skin. No ounce of fear or weakness glimmered in her cruel, golden eyes. For one moment, everyone stared at her, them a perfect picture of fear.

"Mew Mew Cerise, Metamorpha-_sis_!" Roxi didn't hesitate; she summoned forth the bright energy, transforming into her panda-eared warrior form, her Cherry Wand included with the incantation. Her reddish eyes narrowed and she stepped to rush forward, when a silently transformed Mew Powder grasped her by the arm.

"Wait," Kona hissed silently, her cat eyes darting to the side. Roxi's arm tensed at first, but then she too looked around. It was unusual, after all, for Ari to be alone. Was it possible this was another trap, with Hanajima hiding in the air, waiting for an unexpecting moment to strike?

"I'm alone, if that's what you're all so worried about," said Ari with a sneer, "But please,_ do _expend your attention looking for my companion. It's much easier to fight a pack of animals when only half their mind is on you!" Flame engulfed her weapons, signalling a major power up in the alien girl's attacks.

"Nuh-uh!"

Ichigo stumbled back as Yumi broke away from the other two, the horse ears atop her head twitching as she swung her own Bell around wildly, calling forth an attack within seconds. "Ribbon Raspberry _Dazzle!" _With a simple twist of her arm, the small bell announced itself with a tinkle, bursts of light appearing from the center. Just as it was aimed, the energy shot directly at Ari, and upon fading showed the same image as before - strength. Ari was largely unaffected.

"You tire me. _All of you_," Crossing her blades, she held them high above her head, flames of her own burning bright in her eyes. "I've given you so much time, and yet you've learned_ no _new tricks? No ways to defeat me, even catch me by surprise?... I certainly expected better." She chuckled lightly, as if she were carrying on a friendly conversation instead of twining herself into a battle. Then the dark look of hate flashed over her face again, and she brought her arms out infront of her, breathing onto the gathered flame to create a blue spiral, shot directly at Ichigo.

"..." Ichigo could hardly stand, let alone dodge the attack, even with her cat reflexes on edge. Knowing full well she couldn't move, the girl tried to steady her shaky breath, weakly holding her bell out as a futile defence against the incoming fire. That would end the battle for her, leave her helpless against the ground, vulnerable to the merciless attacks of Ari...

"Ungh!" A new force arrived at her side, pushing her roughly but successfully out of the way. Her breath became heavy as the world swayed uncertainly around her, her feet threatening to give way at any moment. She would have collapsed, had an arm not grasped hers and steadied her balance.

Kona looked at her with a serious face, and then allowed some warmth to crawl into it as she laced her arm through hers for support. "You okay?" As strange as the question seemed to be - Kona could plainly see that a girl all scratched up, covered in bruises and on the brink of fainting was hardly 'okay' - Ichigo nodded, softly, trying to return a smile of her own. The black-haired cat girl nodded in gentle response, and then turned to face Ari, who was charging her sais up one again. "Good."

Now confident she wouldn't be caught off guard by any hidden aliens, Roxi confidently stepped up, grasping the top of her wand and twisting her hand so the golden ring began to spin. "Ribbon Cherry _Burst!" _She cried, jumping at Ari and pointing her staff direct-on the alien as rose coloured light exploded from the tip, completely surrounded the blue haired enemy. This time, she seemed more weakened by the hit - she'd been exposed to the attack less times than the others, and so had less of a chance to grow an immunity to it. Her stance in the air faltered, her hands seeming to twitch only slightly in pain as she gathered herself for a quick recovering.

Seeing this as an open chance, Kona prepared to take it. "Ready, Ichigo?" She breathed, holding her circular bell out with her free hand. Ichigo didn't reply out loud, but her support knew by the way the pink-haired girl lifted her weapon and kept a firm hold on it that she was ready, too. Tightening her hold on the staggering girl, she focused on Ari, who had just barely noticed them joining up for an attack.

"Ribbon Blossom _Shine_!"

"Ribbon Strawberry _Surprise_!" Both girls shouted their own calls in near unison, and from their weapons came the energy attacks, combining into one powerful blast Ari was unable to avoid. They heard a muffled, strangled cry from behind the blinding light, and heard a scuff against the dirt as it faded, leaving Ari on her knees, gasping for air. Kona, Ichigo, Roxi and Yumi all lowered their weapons in relief.

"No," Ari snapped angrily, and they all jumped as she lifted her head to glare at them. "No. I'm not finished with you yet." Though it obviously took a lot out of her, she stood to her feet without aid, clasping her weapons tightly in hand. A smirk decorated her face, and though her eyes glinted in suffering from the blow, there was a look of malice boiling beneath it. Kona felt Ichigo's body stiffen.

Slowly, Ari's feet touched off the ground as she raised herself a few feet in the air, arms tightly by her sides. "So you have new ways to use your powers. New tricks." Breathing in, flame outlined her sais once again, but flickered strangely, dimming down into a blue glow and spreading up Ari's arms. "So what?" The glow began to spread across the entirety of her hands to elbows, consuming them and becoming a gel-like substance. Her voice was a roar now. "I may not be as powerful as Kishu-sama, but I have tricks of my own!"

Ichigo's head jerked up, her eyes widening. _Kishu-sama?_ As in, _Kishu _the alien? Something in her mind clicked. The way Ari's voice sounded upon pronouncing his name, the strong hints of jealousy and spite behind those few syllables... They all started piling up. And while she tried to piece the mental puzzle together, her memory flicked through every moment, every word, anything that Ari might have said that connected to this_. "I always thought one of them was a little bit cute..." "Ke..Ki..Kis-" "...I really thought you were in love with him, Momomiya."_

_No way...does that mean Ari - ?_

"_Ichigo_!" Yumi's high pitched scream struck her out of her thoughts immediately, suddenly faced with a wad of blue gel excelling in her direction. Behind it, Ari floated, her hands clasped together, arms tightly pulled in to one another, completely surrounded by the moving blue substance. A wicked grin was on her face as she watched the gel - or whatever it was - shoot at Ichigo with amazing speed. It would be just seconds until she was hit.

Ichigo had noticed too late. Kona, having in much haste assumed the battle was over, had stepped away from her side to make sure Yumi was alright (the girl had taken a bit of a tumble by accident). Now she stood there, alone, all eyes on her, as the dangerous looking substance raced towards her. Her legs stayed planted to the ground. Her body was too weak to throw out a counter attack. Kona was too far away to push her out of the way this time. _She was helpless._

Shutting her eyes, the cat girl braced herself for the hit, fearing for the worst.

--

Roxi saw first. As Kona rushed over to help Yumi up to her feet ("Ara, I'm okay, Kona. Think I tripped on a rock or somethin'..."), she heard Ari call out, saw her connecting her arms with some bizarre blue liquid. Ichigo got this strange, thoughtful look on her face, not budging from where she stood. And then, like a fluid bullet, Ari jerked her clasped hands upwards, sending the substance directly for a stunned Ichigo.

From there, it went in slow motion. Her thoughts buzzed loudly in her ear, panicking, trying to sort through the situation as fast as possible. Ichigo couldn't get out of the way. Kona had pushed her from an attack before, but the distance between Ichigo and where the high school girl stood now was too great. Even Roxi couldn't move fast enough to get her out of harm's way - they'd just both end up being hit. Roxi might be able to handle it. But Ichigo looked like she could be seriously injured if one more shot was recieved - maybe even _worse_ than injured. Roxi didn't even have time to cringe at the thought. Ichigo had come out here to look for Masaya, even though he wasn't there. If she hadn't come out, they would have discovered Ari hiding together, and then they wouldn't be in this situation.

_It's my fault!_

"No!" Roxi cried, pushing off her feet and sprinting to Ichigo, throwing herself infront of the girl, spreading her arms out as widely as possible to act as a human barrier. The instant she took up that position (it happened so quickly she couldn't even see the shocked faces of the other girls), the gel projectile struck her. But instead of knocking her down, or causing damage, it engulfed her completely, wrapping around her body and face. Almost as if she were underwater, she couldn't breath. She felt her body pulsing, struggling... and then everything went black.

--

When Ichigo opened her eyes again, she felt her face pale in horror._ Roxi_. Standing there, her arms spread out, trying frantically to block for Ichigo. And once again, Mew Ichigo was too late - before she could say or do anything, even so much as completely process it through her mind, Roxi was hit. Hard. But the girl's feet didn't even shift from the ground.

The translucent gel seemed to spread around her, encasing her in the thick, blue substance. Trapped. Slowly, playing out infront of her eyes as if a lagging movie, Ichigo watched helplessly as a motionless Roxi fell, trapped in a blob of blue. It wavered, and then disapeared, as if Roxi's body had absorbed it. But she still crashed limply to the ground, not even twitching in pain. For a second, nothing happened. Then reality sped up again.

Kona and Yumi cried out and dashed over. Ichigo could only stare at her friend, sprawled motionless across the ground, her wide blank eyes staring straight up at her. Then, the redhead fell to her knees, silent as the other two girls rushed to her side.

"Roxi! Roxi!" Kona immediately threw a hand out, checking the girl's pulse. Ichigo flinched at the thought of what might have happened... but the black haired girl sighed in relief. "She's alive. Her heart is still beating at least." From there, she went to check her temperature and make sure she hadn't broken anything.

Yumi's lip trembled as she looked down at her friend. "Roxi?" She squeaked. Tears welled up in her eyes. Ichigo could say nothing, she just looked down at her fallen friend blankly. She barely heard Kona calling for Ryou and Keiichiro, Yumi shaking the girl in attempts to wake her up. Lifting her hand, the cat girl reached out and then paused, as if afraid to touch the friend who had tried saving her life.

"I'm sorry..." She breathed, a horde of emotion suddenly flowing from her mind. The world started to blur around her. "I'm so sorry, Roxi... I couldn't... fight back..."

The next thing Ichigo knew, her head hit the concrete and she was greeted by merciful blackness.

--

_Next Chapter:_

_There's only one thing to do when a friend is in danger - save them. And in this world where two aliens run lose, there's only one way to find a cure to save someone - defeat them. But when Ichigo confronts Ari, alone, will her power be enough to keep Roxi from facing an inhuman fate?_


	11. Desperation

**xuri:** La la la. ;3 Good evening/morning/afternoon/wheneveryouhappentobereadingthis. I would just like to apologize in advance for the longness of this chapter, chapters to come, and preceeding chapters that probably make your eyes bleed. It takes a long time for me to work through them, and I have the story clearly in my head already. Can't imagine what it's like for you guys who probably have a different picture in your head than I do. xD

On that note, I am working on the drawings I said I would. At the moment, I have human forms of Kona, Yumi, and Kikyo. Since I plan on doing human/transformation sketches for each character, this could take a while. I might put each of them up as I progress, though. Just wanted to mention it.

SamKo: Well, that's just because Ryou x Ichigo is the mostest amazing pair ever. xD I reaaallly struggled not to squeeze that pairing into this fic, because I wanted it to seem like a duplicate series to Tokyo Mew Mew and I can't see that pairing ever happening in Mia Ikumi's work (though it really should). But after Blend I'll be working on a Ryou x Ichigo fic to satisfy my fan girl ness. x3 And, aww. I like it when my characters are loved. Warm fuzzies. xD

**Blend (chapter eleven)**

**..desperation..**

_Roxi..._

As her mind stirred from the dark abyss, slowly rising back to consiousness, Ichigo felt that one word run lightly through her mind. Then sounds started coming through her ears, quiet ones, the shuffle of feet and low whisper of voices. Her sense of touch returned then, and she identified being laid down on a comfy mattress or futon of some sort. Slowly, the girl found the strength to open her eyes, waiting as her vision cleared to reveal a blank ceiling above her. As the fuzz in her mind cleared, the memories of the recent events came rushing back to her. For a fleeting moment, Ichigo thought - no, she _hoped_ - that it had all been a dream. That she'd waken up.

Once more control was given to her, she was able to turn her head to the side, and felt her heart fall. A twinge of pain came from her arm, and she could see from the corner of her eye neatly tied bandages, running up both her arms, legs, even a few wrapped around her forehead. She was no longer transformed, but she knew they were battle scars. A sigh escaped her weak lips.

So it hadn't been a dream, after all.

While she was still '_waking up'_, Ichigo took the chance to observe her surroundings. Plain, undecorated cement walls. Tables lined the room, holding up buzzing machines. Computers. With a little bit of shock, Ichigo realized she was in the Cafe basement. _What happened...?_

"...Ryou... She's awake..."

Recognizing Kona's soft voice, Ichigo blinked and turned her head to the other side, seeing the blonde haired boy approaching with a serious look on his face. She just stared back. Maybe she would have put an effort in to say something sarcastic, but the girl still felt completely weak and sore all over.

"Do you need anything?" Ryou asked simply, still showing little emotion. Ichigo could see past him now, where Kona and Yumi were standing, talking quietly and gathered around something. Kona had a cloth bandage wrapped around her wrist, and Yumi seemed to be perfectly fine, at least at the angle she stood from her. Lifting her head so she was facing Ryou again, Ichigo tried shaking her head and sitting up a little bit.

"No, I'm...fine," She managed to reply, her mouth feeling dry and her head still a little muddled. _'Fine' _probably wasn't a good word to use. Ichigo was hardly fine, that was obvious. She would have said 'No, I don't need anything, I'm awake now, aren't I?' but she felt so deprived of energy that the effort might as well have knocked her out again. Shifting a bit where she sat, trying to support herself against a headrest, Ichigo looked over at Yumi and Kona again, frowning slightly. "Where's Roxi? Is she alright?"

At this, Ryou was silent. Ichigo's head whirled into a panic - she could feel her heart racing in fear. _Say something...please, please, say something!_ She begged silently. Kona had said Roxi was alive. She'd checked her pulse. She was down, but _alive_- Kona had said so! Ichigo's hands began to tremble. What if... _What if Roxi had...?_

Stepping to the side, Ryou silently motioned at Yumi and Kona to follow as well. They glanced at eachother in reluctance, but obeyed. Ichigo felt her muscles tense, trying not to cry. _Please... _The girl nearly collapsed, seeing Roxi's limp figure laying sprawled on another makeshift bed. Not moving. Her breath suddenly left her as she stared in disbelief. "She..."

"She's stable," Ryou interupted quickly, seeing the pale look of horror on Ichigo's face. He too turned to face the unconsious girl, folding his arms over his chest absently. Ichigo breathed. _Thank God... _Now that her mind wasn't buzzing so loudly, her attention went back to her arms and legs, and she winced. At this point, Ichigo had no doubts she'd wouldn't be in perfect condition again for many days...

She blinked. _What?_ Running a hand over her eyes, figuring her head was still working funny, Ichigo did a double take on the sleeping girl. She was in her tattered cafe uniform, just like Ichigo - detransformed. And yet... there, resting on the top of her head, were a pair of dark panda ears. Ichigo rested her hand on her own hair, but there were no cat ears there. She glanced to the side. No tail either. With a confused look at her friend, who had been announced in a _'stable' _condition, Ichigo opened her mouth the ask something and then flinched instantly.

"Ichigo, you should go back to sleep," Kona said calmly, resting a hand on the girl's shoulders. Her blue eyes were still warm, but weary, as if she'd witnessed too much for one day. "Just rest up, okay? Roxi's fine right now. Keiichiro's out getting some medical supplies for both of you. Yumi and Ryou and I will keep a close eye out, alright?"

Ichigo hesitated, but nodded after a pause. She'd already been out for who knows how long, but she felt completely exhausted - not to mention in a great deal of pain. Breathing a tired sigh, she gingerly lowered herself back down to the bed, curling up into a comfortable position and shutting her eyes. Sleep washed over her welcomely, and she felt temporary relief as she wandered into a wavery dream...

Kona stood over her bed until she was sure the younger girl was asleep. Then, she sighed herself, cradeling a drooping head in her hand, looking back over at Roxi. A frown crossed her face. Ryou had left just moments ago, heading into the other room to help Keiichiro. Unlike she'd told Ichigo, Keiichiro hadn't gone out to get supplies.

_"Medicine isn't going to help her," _Ryou had said grimly after they had checked Roxi over. Even Kona wasn't completely sure what had happened, but she knew it had something to do with Ari's attack. Shaking her head, the girl turned to glance at the panda-eared girl, who was taking shallowed breaths and not even moving a twitch. Something was wrong - and even though she didn't know what, as soon as Roxi passed out on them, Kona knew it was very, very bad...

--

Back at that time, Kona had instructed Yumi to watch Roxi while she went to get Ryou. Ari was no where in sight, her laughter still seemingly echoing through the empty air. Kona didn't care - something was wrong with _Roxi._ She was just about to dash off to the cafe when there was a heavy _'thud' _behind her. Spinning around, the girl found pink clad Ichigo sprawled in a heap on the ground, knocked out. She cursed, but made sure to check her pulse as well. She was unconsious, but not in nearly as bad a state as Roxi. In a few more moments, her body was engulfed in a glow as she subconsiously transformed back into Cafe Ichigo. Kona put a hand to her forehead. She couldn't leave.

"Ryou-san!" She shouted, keeping an eye on Ichigo as she stood up. "Ryou-san!_ RYOU_! Get out here!" Kona continued to cry, glancing back at Ichigo and Roxi every few seconds. The doors of the cafe swung open a minute later, and the blonde haired Ryou ran out, looking confused. His eyes fell upon the fallen Ichigo and his body visibly stiffened.

"What happened?" He demanded once he was over.

"Ari -"

"Ari did this weird attack on Roxi and she was all covered in this blue stuff and then she just fell over and then Ichigo fell over too because she was all scratched up and hurt and -"

"Yumi, _calm down_," Ryou interupted hastily as the young girl showed no signs of stopping her panicked chatter. Stepping over to where Ichigo lay, he raised an eyebrow. Then he turned to Kona with an expectant look on his face.

"She's okay, I think," The black haired girl explained quickly, eyes a little wide, "I'm pretty sure she just passed out from exhaustion. She had to take Ari on all by herself for a long time before we figured out what was going on...but... Roxi..."

Trailing off, Kona turned to face Roxi with a frown. Ichigo had detransformed. Roxi was no longer in her battle outfit. But she still bore her animal-DNA panda ears on her head. Ryou seemed to notice this as well, almost immediately after. He obviously took this as something more serious than Kona had expected.

"_Blend..." _He breathed, a stunned look on his face. Then, clenching his jaw tightly, Ryou turned to Kona and Yumi again. "What happened with Ari and that '_blue stuff'_?"

Kona answered first, to prevent a very distraught Yumi from rambling on again. "She summoned some strange blue coloured substance and used it as an attack... I think she was aiming it at Ichigo, but Roxi jumped in the way and got hit instead. For a minute, it looked like she was covered in it, and then it just sort of disapeared in her body..."

Ryou was silent, but his eyes were narrowed, flickering with thought and fear at the same time. Then, turning around, he began his stalk back inside the cafe. "Bring them both inside. _Now."_

"Ryou..." Kona's eyes widened. There was something in the tone of his voice that told her he knew something, something horrible, that he wouldn't share with them. Straightening up, she took a deep breath. "Ryou, what happened?"

"Didn't I tell you to get them inside?" He snapped, glaring back at them. Seeing the worried look on her face, his expression softened slightly, and he turned away. "If we don't get _that_ out of Roxi's body, then she'll..." Ryou said nothing more as he hurried back into the cafe to retrieve Keiichiro. Obviously, that hadn't answered her question. Not completely. But she wouldn't press it - glancing back at Roxi, who Yumi was trying to wake up, Kona knew something was very wrong. And as she went to get help Yumi bring Ichigo and Roxi inside, she decided that was all the reason she needed at that moment.

--

Sighing, Kona shook her head. She still didn't know what was going on. Not completely. Just that Ryou didn't want Ichigo to know. With a side glance to the sleeping girl, Kona wondered why. So she wouldn't worry? That seemed the most likely. After all, there was no more need for another head getting all panicky. The high school girl spent a moment watching Ichigo sleep, and then went to talk to Yumi, who had been looking a little pale ever since Roxi went out.

"Un...un..."

Kona froze, spinning around. Ichigo hadn't moved. But she'd heard a grumble... Her eyes widened as she turned. _Then that means Roxi...?_

Sure enough, Roxi was showing signs of movement. Her arm jerked a little, and she groaned lightly again. Her eyes weren't open, but her face showed a look of extreme pain. Even from the distance she stood, Kona could hear her breathing becoming irregularily heavy and quick, a tremble running down the girl's body.

"R-Ryou..." She said shakily, not tearing her wide eyes away from the panda-eared girl. Suddenly, and without warning, she stopped moving. The breathing stopped, too. "_RYOU_!" Kona called again, louder, turning away for a split second to get him from the lab.

Then Roxi started to scream.

Ichigo jolted upright, her mind sharpening instantly to the shrill sound. She recognized it immediately. The girl paled when she saw Roxi thrashing on her bed, screaming at the top of her lungs, gasping for air as if she were struggling against some unknown force. "_Roxi_?" She cried, nearly tumbling off her bed as the pain in her body awakened. Kona dashed over immediately, looking just as frightened, and moved to hold the girl down so she wouldn't hit her head on a wall or crash onto the floor. Ryou and Keiichiro came running in right after, looking even more alarmed at the sight of the girl.

"Oh no..." Keiichiro breathed, his eyes growing wide.

Ryou looked equally as panicked. "What happened?"

"I don't know..._I don't know_!" Kona sputtered, forcing the shouting Roxi back down, "She just started moving, and then stopped, and then started screaming... I don't know!" Her voice shook, as if she were choking back tears. Roxi gasped for air desperately, and then let out a high pitched cry, her hand clenching at the sheets as her eyes fluttered open.

"Roxi!" Only then did Kona and Ryou notice Ichigo had woken up as she choked a sob, trying to get off her bed to her feet. She'd moved a bit too quickly for her condition and ended up crumbling to the floor with faint cry.

"I-Ichigo-" Kona started, and then stopped when she saw Yumi hurrying over to help the older redhead up. The black haired girl turned back to restraining Roxi, whose thrashing was only becoming worse and more intense. Keiichiro had disapeared back into the back section of the lab, and Ryou was simply staring, his blue eyes glazed over. At a glance, Kona could have sworn she saw a hint of guilt beneath his features, brimming strongly.

_Guilt?... But why would he - _

"Ryou!" Keiichiro came bursting back into the room, holding something in his hand. Ryou snapped out of his daze, facing the brown haired man as he hurried over breathlessly. The younger boy snatched the object promptly, stepping quickly over to Roxi's bedside, opposite of Kona.

"Do you have her under control?" He demanded, not possesively but seriously enough to make Kona flinch.

"Y-yes, I..." Not saying another word, she moved so she could pin the girl by the shoulders more securely, which caused more of a struggle beneath. Unfazed, Ryou held his free hand to restrain one of her arms, and jabbed a small needle - which had been the object in question - into it as gently as possible.

Ichigo cried out weakly at the sight, stumbling against Yumi's hold as she struggled back up to her feet. Finding her voice again, she started yelling... as much as someone with her strength could, anyway. "What did you _do_? Shirogane, _what's wrong with her_? _Why _is she - "

"Calm down!" He snapped, removing the needle gingerly from Roxi's arm. Sure enough, the girl seized all movement, falling limp against the mattress again. Kona seemed reluctant to remove her grip, but finally pulled her arms away, keeping a wary eye on Roxi. "She'll be fine... For a while," Ryou murmured to both of them, stepping away to dispose of the utensil. "It won't hold for long though. And it's only going to get worse..."

"What?" Ichigo felt her muscles tense in fear as she was finally able to support herself on her own feet, "_What's_ only going to get worse?"

Silence. Ryou and Keiichiro briefly exchanged looks, which frustrated Ichigo on top of all the horrible things running through her mind at that moment. She read their expressions - worry, question - but it didn't calm her own. In fact, if anything, it made it worse. Holding a firm resolve, she repeated her question as best she could.

Ryou still said nothing. But in response instead, he stepped to the side a little bit, looking down at Roxi. Then, gently grabbing her left arm, he exposed her palm.

Ichigo's eyes widened. Her mark. The injection scar, located on the girl's palm. It had always been visible, but very faintly; now it burned more brightly than ever before, a dark red colour, almost as if it were glowing. On top of that, the areas around her eyes seemed to be outlining themselves faintly in black, almost like a...

"Shirogane," She said quietly, turning over to the boy with wide, worried eyes, "_What's happening to her_?"

Resting her arm down again, the boy simply shook his head. "That substance... the blue liquid you said Ari sent at her," He frowned, as if just saying it out loud was further puzzling him, "We're not sure how, but it's triggered one of the side effects of the injection. Quite strongly, too..."

"_Side effects_?" Stepping around the bed, Kona suddenly looked increasingly worried, especially with those two words being spoken. Ryou glanced at her and seemed to swallow before continuing to explain.

"The reason we didn't use Project Blend's methods on you girls," He nodded at Ichigo, referring to Lettuce and the others, "is because literally _blending_ the DNA of an animal into another's is increasingly dangerous. We'd managed to dull it down so it wouldn't have too great of an effect on the body, but the method we used for the original Tokyo Mew Mew proved to be a lot safer. The side effects..." His voice trailed off as he searched for a way to properly explain it, "... are more apparent in _Blend'_s testing. Fortunately, it seems the injection was successful, so none of you have encountered these '_side effects'_. However," Kona suddenly looked very nervous, listening with a dazed and frightened look on her face, "The animal DNA in Roxi's body has been significantly enhanced, most probably from the attack the alien got her with. And it is only sinking further in with every passing moment. If too much time passes - "

"So _do_ something!" Ichigo shouted at him, tears in her eyes. Her frame was trembling, both with anger and fear. She unrelentingly stepped up to him, staring the boy right in the face, "Can't you _cure_ it? Can't you make some miracle medicine and _put her back to normal_?"

"We're trying, Ichigo," He replied calmly, "We're doing our best to analyze it. There's hardly any trace of the substance left, though, so without it we won't be able to create a cure. We'd need a sample of the '_blue substance' _you'd mentioned..."

"Unfortunately, there really doesn't seem to be any equivalent to reverse, either... And since her body has completely absorbed it, we can't work with that, either. But we're doing our best to find something, Ichigo-san," Keiichiro assured her, hardly able to cover the concern on his own face.

Ignoring the brown haired man completely, Ichigo looked at Ryou straight in the eyes, her own brimming with tears. Ryou winced. "We can't wait though, _can we_? We can't wait for you to discover some foreign substance. We don't have time! With Roxi... Roxi..." Her own words escaped her. She didn't know the exact nature of her friend's condition, but Ryou had said '_if too much time passes'_... She knew there was a limit to the time they had before something bad happened. And she didn't want to find out what it was. "You... you're not_ trying _hard enough!"

An angry look flashed over his face. "_'Not trying hard enough_?' Baka! There's a _life _at stake here! We're doing the best we can!"

"Well _do better_!" Ichigo screamed back, and then moved to push his chest. She was so weak that it didn't affect him at all. "You're a genius, Shirogane! You know _everything_! Why can't you _help Roxi_?"

"It's not that easy!" Their voices were elevating to an all out top-of-your-lungs argument, "Don't you think I would have figured it out by now if it was? It's not a _human _condition! The DNA is reacting so strongly by this point that - "

"That _what_? Why don't you just tell me, Shirogane?" Ichigo demanded, oblivious to anything else going on around her.

Ryou shouted in return, _"If we don't find a cure in time, the animal DNA will dominate her mind and turn her into an animal **permanently**_!"

"_Stop it_!" A voice from aside half-hollered, half-whimpered. Both of them turned. The argument would have stopped then anyways - Ichigo's face was suddenly pale and she looked as if she were in a daze. Ryou noticed this, and visibly seemed to regret breaking it to her so harshly. Yumi, who was leaned over Roxi's bed and clutching to her arm, looked up with a tear soaked face, "Please, _please _stop! There's not gonna... not gonna..." The small girl choked, shaking all over, "...be enough time for Roxi if you don't find a way to make her better!" The pleading face was brought on by silence. Keiichiro just looked at the girl sadly, as if he already knew there was no hope. Ryou glanced off to the side with an anxious frown; both Ichigo and Kona were completely white in the face, horrified and very, very afraid. Yumi just dropped her head down to Roxi's chest again and sobbed, the only sound filling the silence.

"I'll go," Ichigo said quietly. Everyone turned to stare at her.

"What?" Ryou said bluntly, narrowing his eyes.

"I'll go. I'll lure Ari out. I'll get her to release that same attack on me, and I'll bring that blue gel back somehow." Even as she spoke, she sounded more confident than she felt. Normally, it would even be a feat. But now, Ichigo was still beaten and bruised...

"Ichigo, you can't," Kona protested softly, stepping forward and holding out an arm. She was shaking. _You're afraid too, aren't you, Kona?..._ "You're too wounded. I'll go instead-"

"No." The strawberry-haired girl shook her head. "I'm the one she wants, remember? If I can find where she is, she'll come out and attack me. And I need to go alone, otherwise she'll bring Hanajima, and I don't want anyone else getting hurt..."

"Ichigo." Ryou warned firmly, his face obviously saying _'no-way-you're-not-going'_, "You know full well you can barely take her on your own, especially in the state you're in right now. If she somehow ambushes you and _does_ bring Hanajima along with her, there's no one to back you up."

"What else are we supposed to do?" She whispered, hanging her head slightly. Ryou said nothing. None of them knew the answer to that. Looking around at everyone, Ichigo's eyes fell softly upon the blonde haired boy again, wide and dismal at the same time. "You see? I have to do this. Roxi was trying to protect _me_. If she hadn't, I'd be the one laying there right now."

He still said nothing. Not right away, at least. Then, shaking his head at himself, he sighed and covered his face with his hand. _This is going to be a mistake, _he thought bitterly to himself, glancing out at the girls from between his fingers. _A big, big mistake._

"Alright, Ichigo. You can go."

A weak smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you, Shirogane."

"Just promise us all you'll be careful, alright?" He came back quickly, lowering his hand. There was a stern tone in his voice, but Ichigo knew he'd already given in. "This situation is by no means to be taken lightly, you understand? Once you have the substance, you come _Right. Back._ If you can't fight anymore, you come _Right. Back._ Don't hesitate if you're too injured. If Ari hits _you _with that attack..." He paused, unsure of whether or not he should say this infront of the others, "You will lose your powers completely. The DNA will be locked within your system, and you will slowly turn into an Iriomote Wild Cat. There _is_ a way to cure Roxi; but because your DNA is not blended together, there will be no way to cure _you."_

Ichigo winced. It made sense to her, of course - Roxi and she had come across their powers under very different injection circumstances. Nodding to Ryou and the others, she turned to face her unconsious friend before she left. _I promise, Roxi, you didn't risk your life for nothing..._ Without another word, she raced out the door, leaving the silence thick behind her.

"Then," Ryou finally said, his voice a little shaken but building up strong again, "Get back to work. Kona, you and Yumi stay here and keep an eye on Roxi. If absolutely _anything_ happens, you are to alert us _immediately_. Keiichiro and I will be looking for a way to reverse the substance's effects if... _once_ Ichigo comes back," He corrected himself hurriedly, almost as if to assure himself nothing bad would happen. With that, he trudged back to the lab, leaving the three girls alone in the quiet.

"Okay, Yumi," She murmured softly, turning to face her younger companion, "Looks like we have a job." Yumi simply nodded gravely and sniffled a little bit, looking down at Roxi. Neither of them said any more. Running a hand anxiously through her black hair, Kona managed a little sigh and found herself a position at Roxi's bedside, resting her own hand at the mattress as she observed the not-so-peacefully sleeping girl.

_Roxi... you've **got** to come out of this alright..._

--

Ichigo wasted no time.

The minute she had left the cafe porch, she broke out into a run. As much as it hurt her, made her legs and arms ache and pain sear through her body, her determination fuelled her forward, some part of her mind forcefully blocking out all the suffering. The streets were completely dark - Ichigo hadn't realized it had gotten so late - and abandoned. Even the streetlights did little to ease the shadows creeping along the sidewalk.

And yet, Ichigo had no time to girlishly freak out over things like that. She picked up speed as much as possible, panting for air. When she came across a more industrial part of town, she began to shout.

"Ari!" She cried, though it came out as more of a choked up sound, "_Ari_! Come out and _fight_! I know you're there!"

In all honesty, she had no idea where either Ari or Hanajima resided when they weren't in their student-teacher disguises. Some pocket realm? A normal house? Or were their essences everywhere, just waiting for her to appear to strike?... She prayed that Ari would hear her and come out. Fast.

Roxi was running out of time.

Ichigo was beginning to lose patience, as she continued running, having to slow down to a light jog, so she wouldn't pass out from pain and exhaustion. Once she found the strength to, she continued yelling, searching for any signs of alien-girl. "_Ari! _You coward! Come out and fight me _now_!" She repeated this, over and over again, yelling louder and louder and combing the entire area. Still nothing. Her mind told her to give up _- she wouldn't hide somewhere so obvious_ - but Ichigo knew that wasn't an option. The only thing she could do was search until her body gave way. Ryou had never said anything about tiring _herself_ out. So she wouldn't be breaking her promise, if something bad never happened...

She had to stop completely at this point, bending over and gasping for scarce-seeming air. Her chest felt heavy, as if it had been crushed in by some invisible and unrelenting force. Ichigo could feel tears warm in her eyes. _Hopeless._ What was she supposed to do now? Clearly, Ari wasn't coming out tonight. _Of all times you decide to leave me alone..._ And she couldn't just give up, go back and watch Roxi turn into a mindless animal. That would be the worst outcome of all. Ichigo just wanted to lay down right there, and sleep, make this painful reality fade into the distance. She didn't know how much longer she could search, especially if it turned out to be fruitless. _Roxi... I'm so sorry..._

Soft but firm footsteps interupted her apologetic thoughts. Ichigo didn't notice them at first, clutching her head in her hands and silently holding back the wave of tears that threatened to break through. Only when a voice mused aloud from behind did she lift her head in brief triumph...

...and fear.

"Good evening, Ichigo-neko."

--

Kona and Yumi had fallen asleep against the mattress edges when Roxi's body gave a giant heave and she began to scream again.

The girls' heads snapped up instantaneously, looking a bit in a confused daze until their eyes fell over the writhing body of the panda-eared girl. Jumping up to her feet, Kona pinned her shoulders down, which was met with a great struggle. Yumi looked indescribably pale at that moment, staring with wide, horrified eyes as Roxi's body tensed and thrashed around violently.

"Hold her down!" Kona ordered loudly, more sternly than she'd meant too. Yumi didn't seemed fazed by it, however; with a swift nod, she used her tiny but strong arms to keep Roxi as still as possible as she cried out in pain. As soon as her mind wrapped around the situation, the eldest girl began to shout for Ryou and Keiichiro, doing everything she could to keep Roxi from clawing her own eyes out.

Only seconds later, Ryou entered the room at a swift pace, his expression forced to that of someone collected. No one in that room blamed him for being anxious about the whole thing. He already held an injection device in his right hand as he made a straight line for Roxi and the others, not saying a word.

"Roxi...!" Yumi whimpered, tears streaming down her face as she tried putting her body weight against the struggling girl. Wordlessly, Ryou firmly set his hand on one of her arms, positioning the needle and poking it into her skin.

She completely lost it. The minute the needle came into contact with Roxi, she let out a shrill cry, her arm escaping from Kona's grasp and flinging towards Ryou, knocking the device uselessly to the floor with a clatter. Even that of the injection that had gotten into her system failed to do anything. The girl struggled violently against the hold of the two girls as Ryou stood there, momentarily stunned, before a deep and worried frown crossed his face.

_We're running out of time... _He thought grimly to himself, and, checking to make sure Kona and Yumi had her under control as much as possible, hurried off to get Keiichiro. Now with even less people in the room, Roxi began to scream louder, and the girls could almost hear the mind-splitting pain she was going through at that moment in her strangled voice. Lowering her head, Kona could see the circles around Roxi's eyes beginning to darken, her jaw and teeth slowly beginning to change shape. It was horrifying, watching someone go through the excruciating process of having their mind being taken over, slowly and as painfully as possible, until they became a complete animal.

Finally, it seemed Roxi was out of energy, but the pain did not subside. Her arms fell limp against the bed and she lay there, gasping, her glazed eyes half open, her pupils becoming more narrow with the passing moment. Choking out a shaky cry, she began to sob loudly, curling her body up into a tight ball and clutching her head in her hands. Seeing she had stopped thrasning, Yumi and Kona released their hold, keeping their hands at a safe distance in case she broke out again. The girl barely moved however, as she whimpered in pain, her body shaking and fighting for air.

Clenching her jaw slightly, Kona felt helpless as she could only watch. "Ichigo..." She murmured under her breath, and glanced over at the door worriedly_. Ichigo... Please hurry... Roxi needs you to come back!_

--

Ichigo whipped around instantly, faced by the blue haired alien she'd been searching so desperately for. Her breath caught in her throat. Just as she was - tattered, beaten, bruised and weak -, Ari hadn't improved much since the earlier battle, either. There was a gradually healing cut at the corner of her mouth, scrapes decorating her arms and face, bruises lined up along her legs and sides. Of course, she was still in a better condition to fight; Ichigo assumed the aliens had a faster healing rate. She grimaced.

"Came out to play, hm, neko?" Ari said slyly, cocking her head to the side. There was only a meter or so of distance between them, so Ichigo planted her feet firmly in the ground. There was never any telling when Ari might try to strike. "I guess you want me to finish you off, don't you? And I would have earlier, if your little friend hadn't been so foolish..."

Ichigo blinked. She remembered then, past the clouds of defence and fear in her mind, why she had come looking for her in the first place. Shaking her head, she turned to glare at Ari. Putting a hurt and angry look on her own face was so easy... they were what she felt inside, anyways.

"You..." She took a deep breath, boldly stepping forward and clenching her hand in a fist, "..._You_ did this to Roxi! Aren't_ I _the one you're after? Aren't _I _the one that took something from you?" Ichigo gritted her teeth. "You're _killing_ her, and I cannot forgive you. She has never - _never _- done anything to deserve this. So here I am," Standing up straight, she looked the alien defiantly in the eye, "I'm here to give you what _you _deserve."

Ichigo twisted her words so it sounded like she was here for revenge, instead of an essential substance.

A smirk graced Ari's lips. "So be it. This is how I want to end it, neko. Strength burning in your heart as I deliver the final blow!" With a swift cross of her arms, the twin daggers appeared, and she wasted no time charging forward.

"Hup!" Cat movements coming into action, Ichigo easily dipped to the side, a light glowing around her as she transformed. Even then, she felt her legs buckling beneath her, and she panted for breath before summoning her Strawberry Bell_. This isn't going to be easy..._

Ari whirled around just as quickly, bounding forward and taking a slash at the cat girl. Her head jerked to the side, the sharp object snagging only on the edge of her skirt as Ari nearly fell forward from the momentum. Ichigo took the delay in reaction as her chance, flinging out her Bell.

"Ribbon Strawberry _Surprise_!" Right up in her face, Ichigo called forth the burst of light as it sent Ari back quite a ways, clutching at her arm in pain as she tried to recover.

"Fool," She seethed in anger, beckoning the flame to surround her sais. Once she seemed to have regained her energy, the alien girl shot forward, striking with a strong downward swing. One dagger partially collided head on with Ichigo's weapon, the blunt side of the knife smacking hard against her shoulder. Ichigo cried out in pain, nearly losing grip on her Bell, the attack followed by a strong impact to her gut.

The wind was knocked clear out of her as she fell back from Ari's tackle, her body hitting the ground loudly and leaving her immobile for several brief moments. Ari grinned weakly above her, panting for air.

"It's only fair, you know," She mused. Ichigo couldn't tell whether she was talking to her, or just herself. "A life for a life. You _destroyed_ Kishu-sama. And now I'm destroying someone dear to _you_..."

"What are you..." Ichigo breathed, pulling her body up as much as she could muster, "...talking about?" Again, she'd mentioned Kishu - Ichigo hadn't _'destroyed'_ him. He'd left alive, along with the others. Even though Ichigo was barely able to get up, Ari made no move. She could tell the alien was in as great pain as she was.

"Only you, Momomiya Ichigo," With a sneer, Ari's gloves tightened around her weapons, "When he came back, he was changed. Beaten. _Weak_. In one piece, yes, but his power had diminished significantly... He was a shell of his old warrior self. All because of _you_!"

"No!" Ichigo screamed, calling her attack forth once again to blast Ari. She didn't understand a word of what Ari was saying_. Weak? Beaten?... What does she think I did?..._

Letting out a shout, Ari was thrown backwards by the energy, falling to her knees. She was struggling to keep her body upright, one eye open and burning fiercely in Ichigo's direction. "You'll regret that," She growled, and somehow managed to stumble forth at a speed suitable for an attack.

The bronze sais clashed together with the furry pink bell, a shaky sound ringing through the air. Ari and Ichigo were both close to the ground, almost even on their knees, as they struggled to knock the other defensive away. Their weapons' hold did not budge.

"Give up, Ichigo-neko," Ari snapped angrily, weakness thick in her voice, "But don't fool yourself into thinking I'll be merciful. Witches deserve to be_ burned_!"

"_Witch?" _Ichigo mumbled in disbelief. She felt her jaw tighten. "Where did you get a stupid idea like that?" Ichigo had managed to push the alien over some, so she had a bit of an advantage.

Ari just chuckled with mirth. "Casting spells on men. Be_witching_ them, leaving them babbling idiots under a seal of delusional love. _That's _what witches do, isn't it, neko?" Fighting back at that moment, Ari wrestled Ichigo back, once again setting the advantages at an even point.

"_What_ are you talking about?" Ichigo was being pushed closer to the ground. It took all her strength to keep the muttering alien at bay. _Bewitched? She thinks that I... that I bewitched Kishu?_

"You're not so innocent," She retorted bitterly, and then with a grunt twisted her arms so her daggers were crossed over one another. With only a breath, she summoned forth a bright spiral of fire, and sent Ichigo back at just the sight. The girl managed to escape most of the fire, but her left arm was caught and badly burned as she was thrown back against the ground, a growl of pain emitting from her throat. She could hear Ari's weak, unstable footsteps approaching from behind, closer, closer... Taking a trembling breath, she was about to get back up when she noticed the way Ari was holding her daggers.

"And now," She said weakly, with a hint of triumph on her exhausted and beaten face, "Now, Ichigo, your life will end. I hope you didn't take it for granted." Just as Ichigo guessed, the blue susbstance from before engulfed her blades as she clasped them together, pointing them at the cat girl menacingly. Ichigo froze where she was. Her Bell had been knocked out of her hands, but not too far; even now, her hand slowly and unnoticeably crept towards it, her wide pink eyes watching Ari with a mixture of fear and caution.

_If I mess this up, me and Roxi are both finished..._

Ari wasn't in a mood to waste time. Normally, she may have gloated, made Ichigo endure torments and cruel words that she'd always imagined to use at her downfall. But she didn't know how much longer she could even stand, herself. She would just have to end it, _now._

"Bye-bye," Ari said bluntly, aiming her blue-covered arms right at Ichigo.

Ichigo's eye caught the sight of the substance gathering more strongly at the tip, and she knew that was the prime moment. Without even wasting a second, her hand grabbed her bell and she threw it to the side with one hand, feeling it come into contact with one of the knives. "Strawberry _Surprise!" _She exclaimed at that very moment, knocking a dagger into the air. Dropping her Bell, she lunged out to catch the weapon engulfed in blue, feeling the cool surface resting in her palm. Ichigo winced, seeing the blue substance that surrounded it twist up her own arm. Luckily, that was all that it did. After waiting a few seconds, and then determining it was safe, Ichigo moved to pick up her bell, still holding the sai in her hand.

Ari tried to move, but could hardly budge from her spot against a wall. She was slouched down, her entire body pale and slumped weakly. Ichigo could tell she wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. Still catching her breath herself, the pink haired girl slowly stepped over, standing over the alien and staring at her cautiously, as if making sure she really was down for the count.

And Ari laughed. It was a light, shaky chuckle, but a laugh no less, as much of a grin as she could muster appearing on her face. "Heh. You little _sneak_. I got careless, didn't I?" She laughed again, her head lolling to the side slightly against her shoulders. Her eyes closed for a few seconds, and then opened softly again with amusement. "But you know... You won't make it in time to claim your prize..."

Ichigo felt as if she'd been dunked in ice cold water and the realization dawned on her_. Oh, god no... Roxi!_ Ensuring she had the gel-clad weapon tightly in hand, Ichigo turned and darted off back down the street, not saying another word. Not wasting a single second. _Please... please don't say I'm too late! _Ari's laughter echoed on behind her as she dashed down the streets as fast as she could, ignoring the pain that was searing through every inch of her body, every muscle that felt more and more raw with every movement. Even breathing became hard. But she took no breaks - she couldn't afford them - as she continued her mad sprint back to the cafe. Subconsiously, she felt tears gathering in my eyes.

_If only I'd gotten it faster... Please be okay!_

--

Kona's face was soaked with tears.

Yumi seemed like she could have been drenched all over; tears were still pouring mercilessly from her eyes, her little body shaking with sobs. Ryou and Keiichiro just stood by the doorway, their faces shadowed over to hide the mourning.

"R-Roxi..." Yumi whimpered, clinging to the cold and motionless arm.

The doors burst open and Ichigo threw herself in. Everyone's heads snapped up.

"I got it -- gyah!" She could only squeak as, the minute she set foot inside the doorway, her body gave way and left her in a heap on the floor. Her muscles refused to budge beyond that, so she stayed there against the cold floor until the others processed what was going on.

"Ichigo!" Kona breathed in surprise suddenly, running over to help the girl up. It was a difficult process, for sure, but they managed to stumble up within a few seconds. Ichigo detransformed with what energy she had left.

"Kona... is Roxi - " She froze in place as her eyes fell over the bed where Roxi lay, pale and unmoving. Her entire body looked as if it were changing structure by the moment, without looking alive at all.

Roxi was dead.

Or, Ichigo would have thought, until she saw her chest moving softly in breathing.

"Ichigo!" Yumi rushed over and practically tackled the older girl, clinging to her desperately. "Ichigo, we thought you wouldn't make it! We thought you couldn't find her or get back! And Roxi.. Roxi...!"

"It's alright now," Ryou said quietly as he made his way over, looking just as relieved and anxious as anyone. He looked down at the weapon Ichigo had in her hand, and in return she gave it to him cautiously. The boy disapeared into the lab, his orders to Keiichiro fading through the door.

"Lie down, now. You're even worse than before," Kona remarked, prying Yumi off Ichigo and leading Ichigo back over to her hospital-esque bed. Ichigo couldn't even answer. She just let Kona set her down and relaxed her tense muscles, watching Roxi anxiously. The brown haired girl - her hair was turning darker now, too - was curled up in a tight ball, shaking violently. Sweat was running down her paled face, her eyes fluttering open and shut as she tossed around in pain, letting out little muffled groans. _She's in so much pain..._ Ichigo thought in remorse, and shut her eyes, not able to watch. _Ryou, hurry up, please!_

Sure enough, both men hurried back inside, each holding a vial full of liquid. "Kona. Yumi," Ryou directed clearly, and the girls obeyed without question. As if this had been rehearsed, they stood by her bed, holding her arms down. Roxi began to struggle. Before it could elevate any further, the girls propped her upright and Ryou wasted no time stepping up, holding her jaw open and tipping the liquid in the small bottle into her mouth. She coughed a little bit, but her head was tilted at an angle that she had to swallow it. Her thrashing calmed slightly, but she was still gasping for air, her face contorted in pain. Keiichiro quickly handed him the second vial, and he proceeded to do the same thing; it went down easier this time, as if Roxi had weakened herself too much by the point. She stopped moving, but it looked more like she was sleeping then as she was set back down against her pillow, her expression turning peaceful and her breathing calming.

Kona sighed, lowering her head in withheld relief. "Thank god, Roxi..."

"Ara... Roxi, please get better soon," Yumi murmured softly, cuddling up fondly against her friend. Ryou, though he looked as if he knew it would work, didn't look any less pleased and relieved than the rest of them. Ichigo just smiled softly, allowing much-needed sleep to come over her.

_I'm so glad..._

--

A few hours (maybe more) later, Ichigo found her eyes opening again, a little string of drool hanging from her mouth as she lazily looked around. _Mnmn... Where am I...? _Suddenly remembering she was still in the lab, Ichigo's eyes widened and she gave a little squeak before sitting up, quickly wiping her chin on her sleeve. Ryou just grinned.

"Let me guess," He teased mildly, cocking his head to the side. She felt her face go red with embarassment. "You were dreaming about Aoyama again, neh?"

"Kyah! Shirogane!" She screamed and threw a pillow at him. He just stepped aside and chuckled lightly before leaving the room with her staring angrily after him.

"...It's okay. He was just worried about you."

Startled, Ichigo looked to the side to see Roxi was sitting up, a weak smile on her face. She was still covered in battle scars and bandages, but her ears had disapeared and her loose-set jaw was starting to look more normal. The colour in her face had returned, and the lines around her eyes faded so much they just looked like sleep-lines. Ichigo couldn't help but sigh in unexplainable relief.

"Oh, Roxi... I'm so glad you're okay. I mean, not okay okay, but... Wah, _I'm so sorry_!" She hung her head and sniffled a little bit, feeling shame and guilt wash over her.

She could see Roxi out of the corner of her eye, tilting her head curiously. "...Why are _you_ sorry?"

"If it hadn't been for you trying to save _me_, you'd have never had to go through this... We were all so worried about you! We thought... we thought- "

"_Your _fault?" Ichigo looked up to see Roxi staring in blatant bisbelief, "But you didn't _do_ anything! It was a stupid risk, yeah, but if I hadn't, _you'd_ have been hit! Shirogane-san told me. He told me that I was lucky I was able to have been cured. He told me that, if it had happened to you, there would be no way to save you."

Ichigo blinked and thought it over. Then, looking down at the floor, she said, "I guess I owe you a '_thanks_', then. A big one."

A wide smile spread across her face. "Same to you. I guess that makes us even, neh, Ichigo-chan?" The strawberry girl nodded and they both laughed, still without much energy. Then, shyly looking over at the wall, Roxi began to twist a lock of lighter-brown hair around her finger, "But... well, I do owe _you _a big apology. None of this would have happened in the first place... if..."

"If...?" Ichigo cocked her head to the side.

Taking a deep breath, Roxi leaned forward to look at Ichigo with wide, guilt-stricken eyes. "IfIHadn'tToldYouAoyamaSenpaiWasComingBecauseHeWasnt!" He face turned a little bit red, and she bit her lip. "I... lied to you. I'm really sorry, Ichigo-chan... It's just... you were _so_ depressed all day!"

For a minute, Ichigo was silent. Then she laughed, which kind of broke off into a bit of a strangled cough. Roxi stared at her strangely, as if she maybe didn't understand her.

"Ah, right," Ichigo said with a little smile, "I guess... I _was_ in a bit of a mood. You were just looking out for me, right? Besides, I was pretty gullible to believe you, over and over again..." She laughed again, and this time Roxi nervously joined in.

"I guess... I should have told you though."

"It's alright. I'm just glad everyone's alright."

The two friends exchanged warm smiles at that, when Kona walked in and jumped at the sight of them both up.

"Gah! You two!" Sternly walking over, she sighed and pushed Ichigo back down, "Rest. Now. You're both in no shape to be out of bed!" She tried to scowl a little bit, but it broke through with a smile. "But it's good to see you're both well again."

Smiling back in return, Ichigo nodded and lay back down, as did Roxi. Her own body was stiff, and she had to shift around to find a comfortable position.

"Neh... I guess I'm gonna be like this even longer, huh?" She mused, referring to her injuries. Then, with a hopeful look on her face, she added, "I'll probably even get some _days off _to heal and stuff..."

"Not a chance, Strawberry!" A voice called from the next room. She frowned and then groaned.

"Wah, Shirogane! You're so _mean_!"

Kona and Roxi burst into laughter.

--

_Next Chapter:_

_Love is a precious thing. Ichigo believes she and Masaya have always shared something - even now, when they haven't seen eachother for almost months. Love heals all wounds, as one might say, and even if absense takes a toll on relations, the heart grows strong as love is twined once more. Only, when Ichigo finds her chance to grasp happiness for all it's worth, Ari finds a chance of her own to wreck it._


	12. Venge

**xuri:** Dun. Dun. Dunnn. -cough- Seriously, these chapters are like energizer batteries. They just keep going... and going... and going.. xD Looking back, I can barely believe I managed to fit a plot into 26 chapters at this 5000 plus word length. It's... scary. Especially since, when I started, I had it in my head it would be around 16 chapters at the most. Isn't life surprising. xD

On a side note - is anyone good at making anagrams? I'm trying to think of one for my next fic, but I'm apparently not too good at this sort of thing.

SamKo: -high fives for being an IxR fan- I'll probably be reading that when you have it up. Well written RxI fanfics make me happy. That's probably the only reason I'm glad Ryou and Ichigo didn't end up together in the series - then I wouldn't be able to read all these coolie and cute fanfictions. And be able to write them. Whee.

Applecake: xD xD xD Again, I apologize for the difficultness of the keeping up with the chapterness. But, hey, at least when I get to chapter 26 you won't have to worry about it taking off on you again. xD Thank you sooo much for the reviews, even though I'm practically forcing a full length novel down your throat. Hehe. I really appreciate it!

---

**Blend (chapter twelve)**

**...venge...**

"Hey Yumi. You can set your stuff over here..."

"Okay!" The shorter girl bounced happily from the door, plopping her bag down in the spot Kikyo had suggested. Already there were a few other bags stacked there - Ichigo's pink one, a simple backpack from Kona, and a cute fluffy looking thing from Roxi - as well as some bundled up sleeping bags left behind. Once her hands were free of her baggage, Yumi looked up at the taller girl eagerly. Kikyo sighed, and pointed.

"They're upstairs," She said bluntly, and heard only an excited squeak in reply as Yumi made a mad dash for the stairs. Kikyo sighed again, but managed a little smile, running a hand through her hair.

_Well... It won't be so bad._

Rewind -- not too long after Ichigo came back and Roxi had been cured and they were well on their way to recovery, there came a problem to the minds of all the girls. And, while they were having trouble finding the exact words to describe it, Ichigo just blurted -

"Uh, how am I supposed to go home looking like _this_?" After holding out her scratched, bruised and bandaged arms, everyone knew what she meant. It was usually different - a little scrape could be explained by a fall, or a stumble. But coming home, late from work, looking like she'd been run over by a dumptruck could cause some problems. And no matter how much they thought about it, there were no real, let alone believable, explainations for the way it was. Roxi was just as bad; even Kona and Yumi looked more beaten up than usual.

It was about then when Kikyo poked her head in. She'd been planning to thank Keiichiro and Ryou for the day off (she'd had a nice time with Koji, after all), but was a little surprised to see all the girls there, as well. Especially looking the way she did. As Ryou explained the passing situation to her, Kikyo's expression growing dimmer by the minute, Yumi's face suddenly lit up and she practically leapt into the air to announce her idea -

"_Sleepover!"_

And so, here they were now. Kikyo's house. It worked out nicely - both her parents worked lengthy night shifts, so they wouldn't be back until past noon the next day - so Yumi's '_brilliant' _spur-of-the-moment idea was put into action. The girls would call their parents, get them to drop their stuff off at the cafe, and have a sleepover at Kikyo's house, where no one would question why the guests looked as if they'd been caught in a streetfight. By the next day, they'd have enough energy again to figure out ways to cover most of their faded cuts and bruises with clothing and makeup. From there, they could make up stories for the little ones unable to cover.

Plus, it was an all-girls night. A little fun never hurt defenders of the earth, right?

At that moment, they were all in Kikyo's room upstairs, chatting about mindless things. As the girl of the house made her own way up the stairs, after grabbing some chips and soda, she couldn't help but think that the girls wouldn't have the energy to be staying up to the early hours of the morning, let alone too much later.

_Looks like there will actually be sleeping at this sleepover..._

When she entered the room, Ichigo and the others were already in their pyjamas, comparing hairstyles and discussing how they should be changed.

"I'd love to have little curls, here and here," Ichigo noted out loud, pointing to a few sections of her red hair, "It gets so_ frizzy _though, so it probably wouldn't look too great..." She sighed in remorse. In her head though, it was nice to be obsessing about something _other_ than aliens or super powers for once.

"Really? I think it would look good," Kona said with a light shrug, combing her fingers lightly through her own black hair. Her fingertips paused at the dark black ends, which were tipped in hot pink. "I might change the colour of this soon," She remarked lightly, looking down at the lock of hair, "Dunno to what though. I want a change, but this colour kind of matches me..."

Roxi laughed a little bit, a cheery smile breaking through her wounded face. She playfully twisted her long brown hair through her hands. "I might just lop mine right off. I'm not big on hair dye or any of that, so it's probably just easier for a new look." She nodded in satisfaction, and chatter broke out again among the girls as they discussed these things.

"Nehh, what about my hair?" Yumi inquired anxiously, leaning forward a bit with wide eyes. Her own short, darker red hair was cropped shortly around her little face, neatly of course, and it looked fine and good for all her athletic activities. So all three other girls stared at her strangely, as if trying to figure out an answer to the question.

"Well... uhm..." Kona frowned just a little bit, unable to get a picture in her head. Yumi's hair wasn't _short_ short, but it seemed too short to do anything with it. Even Ichigo and Roxi looked puzzled, as they narrowed their eyes and tried to picture what kind of stylings she could do. No one said anything, and Yumi suddenly looked very discouraged, fingering her hair with a look of distaste. Kikyo just stood in the doorway for a bit, her eyes blankly glaring at a wall, before she shook her head and sighed, pushing off the doorframe and walking over to the group.

Ignoring the _'how-long-were-you-standing-there' _look she got from a few of the girls, the brunette knelt down beside Yumi. She recieved a curious glance from the younger girl, but proceeded to examine her hair lightly anyways, a thoughtful look crossing her face for a brief moment. Then she spoke.

"You could always get highlights," Kikyo remarked, taking her hand away, "And get them faded so they look more natural on your hair colour. If you wait for a few months so it grows out just a little more, you could probably get it layered and flip it out, too. It'd look good if you decided to flip it in, too, so it curls around your face. You have a lot of options, so you can always pick the ones that suit you the best."

Yumi's face lit up, and the other girls just kind of gaped in surprise. Then Roxi blurted, "Kikyo-chan! How did you think of all those so _fast? _I would have never been able to figure those all out, not without pictures or something..." The other two nodded in agreement. Kikyo managed a little smile, shrugging.

"I did a lot of modelling, when I was in middle school," She replied easily, "I guess you just sort of get an eye for these things after a little while of that."

Ichigo smiled. Hearing her say that reminded her of Zakuro - and made her wonder how her job as a runway model was going. Trailing behind that thought was one she hadn't though for a long time; _how long until she comes back_? How long until _any _of them came back? At those little notes to herself, Ichigo frowned, her mind no longer attached to the conversations going on before her. Ever since Kona and the others appeared, she'd been too distracted to worry about it. But now yet another thought drifted forward to her attention.

_Are they ever going to come back?_

Just the question, let alone the implications, gave Ichigo a serious amount of distress. So much that she was completely oblivious to anything going on around her, even when Yumi poked her in the side or Kikyo raised an eyebrow at her silent nature. She was worried again. Sure, she had friends, new friends, but...

_...I really miss them. All of them._

After only about an hour or so, Roxi made the suggestion they go to sleep. Even then, she was extremely drowsy, the exhaustion from the events of that day finally taking a toll on her energy. Kona and Yumi agreed, though they weren't nearly as beaten down to fatigue. Kikyo was the only one who wasn't tired at all_. Lucky._

Kona was the one who snapped her out of her daze, suggesting that she go to sleep, too. Ichigo spacily agreed, and promptly unravelled her sleeping bag and curled up in it, doing her best to push those thoughts to the back of her mind. Sleep would bring dreams, and dreams would keep her from worrying about things she couldn't control. On that note, she did her best to fall asleep as quickly as possible, so her dreams would distract her buzzing mind.

Ichigo just hoped those dreams wouldn't be nightmares.

--

Luckily enough, her sleep was nightmare free. It was pretty much dream-free, too, as far as she could tell. Peaceful, nonetheless, as her mind greeted with a nice blank sheet, absolutely nothing to worry about as she let her body recharge. It might have been a real task to wake her up in the morning, Ichigo was so content with her sleeping. Only a cellphone ringing loudly without end could have roused the girl at this point.

So it did.

_Rrriinnng!_ The jumpy ring tone sounded off suddenly, causing Ichigo to jump up in bed, her eyes half lidded and her hair mussed around. She blinked the fuzz out of her eyes and indentified the phone ringing in a few more seconds.

"Wha...hun?" She mumbled incoherently, and crawled out of the sleeping bag, trying to find her jacket. There was a little pile of garments by the door. Muttering to herself drowsily, she felt through the clothes until she pulled out the article she was looking for, dumping out the pockets until her pink cell phone clattered to the floor, along with Masha. The startled pink fuzzball gave a little tweet before floating around the room quietly. Ichigo fumbled with the phone and finally managed to flip it open.

"...Mo...shi moshi?" Ichigo managed with a little yawn.

"Ichigo?... Were you asleep?"

Her eyes widened. "M-Masaya!" She cried to the voice on the other end, and hurriedly covered her mouth. "I-I mean... no, uh, kinda... Why are you calling so early...?"

"Early?" As Ichigo's mind finally clicked 'on', she noticed just then the light shining through the window. Holding her phone away from her ear for a second, Ichigo checked the time on the screen. 10:15 a.m. There was a chuckle from the other end. "Sorry. I had no idea you were such a late sleeper..."

Ichigo felt her face growing hot from embarassment. She was glad he couldn't see her then. "Ah! No, I was just up...really late..." Humiliation fading, a wide smile suddenly appeared on her face. Her entire expression lit right up. "I haven't seen you for such a long time, Aoyama-kun! I can't believe you called... I've been trying to get ahold of you for... forever!"

"Ah, I really am sorry about that. You know, school and everything has been weighing me down lately... a lot. I haven't had time for much of anything. So, anyways... I want to make it up to you."

Ichigo's smile widened, and with an inaudible sigh, she found a spot against the wall where she could rest comfortably as she listened to his nice voice again. Even as he was speaking, she'd checked to make sure no one else had been woken up by her cellphone or her chatting. To her relief, everyone was still sleeping comfortably; Kona on her back, her head tilted a bit to the side; Roxi on her stomach, arms folded beneath her head for comfort; Yumi, all curled up in a ball, huggging her pillow happily... Ichigo had to keep from laughing. They were all so different. Even Kikyo slept on her side, her arm tucked under the pillow and the other touching the floor.

_Friends, huh...?_

"Like I was saying," Masaya continued, snapping her out of her reverie, "I thought maybe I could take you for dinner tonight. Short notice, I know, but I don't want to blow off any plans with you because of things popping up suddenly, and I'm completely free today. So? How's it sound?"

Ichigo could barely hide the excitement in her voice. "Perfect!" She nearly giggled in joy, but remembered the peacefulness of the sleeping girls. "What time? Where should I meet you?"

"...How does 5:30 sound? Unless you think you need more sleep..."

"Eheh," With a crooked grin, she scratched her head and sweatdropped, "No, I think 5:30's good."

"Good. Then I'll see you at the restaurant, 'Michi's', okay?"

"Okay!"

The voice at the other end warmly ended with, "See you then, Ichigo." There was a click as the other person hung their phone up. Still with her head nestled against the phone, Ichigo smiled uncontrollably, and closed her eyes. Then, with a happy sigh, she said to no one, "See you then, Aoyama-kun,". It was so nice to speak his name and hear his voice again.

_I missed him so much..._

Flipping the pink gadget shut, she crawled over to the jacket pile and started digging around for hers, trying to find the pocket to shove her phone into. Just then, there was a little rustle and groan behind her, causing her to jump in place before glancing over worriedly to see who she'd waken up.

Kikyo rubbed her eyes a bit, squinting in Ichigo's direction as she sat up. "Ichigo? What are you doing up so..." Her eyes caught the clock, "...before everyone else?" Caught off guard by how late it really was, Kikyo looked like she was getting out of bed to get ready. Ichigo remembered her parents would be coming home in a few hours.

"Oh, uhm, I'm sorry..." She cut herself off, suddenly getting an idea. Setting her pocketted cell and jacket aside, she turned completely towards the brunette, who had stepped over to her mirror to pull her long hair into a high ponytail. "Kikyo... do you think... I could ask you for a favour?"

Turning her head only slightly so she could see the mirror as she fixed her hair, Kikyo raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "...Sure. What is it?"

Smiling shyly, Ichigo sat straight up, trying to look as dignified as she could in pink pyjamas with sleep still in her eyes. Then, choosing a tone of voice quiet enough that she wouldn't wake anyone else, she asked, "...Would you be willing to do my hair?"

--

"There."

With a satisfied look, Kikyo set the curling iron aside and proceeded to comb through Ichigo's red curls. For a moment, the girl in question stared at the mirror in a bit of a daze, as if she might have been hallucinating. Then her face lit right up.

"Wah, Kikyo! It looks so good!" She cried in delight, preening her own curls joyfully. It was perfect. She'd wanted to look nice for Masaya, but this was far nicer than she'd expected from her own looks. Ichigo was very pleased. Turning to Kikyo with a broad smile, her eyes glimmered happily. "Thanks so much! You really have a talent for these things," She added as an afterthought. The flattery seemed to work well on Kikyo, as it earned the girl a little smile.

"Years of experience," Was all she said, before gently turning Ichigo's head back to face the mirror, "Hold on. Let me just put some of this on..." Shaking a small bottle of hairspray, she added the product to finish and shine Ichigo's temporary new hairstyle. This only got a more gleeful response from the girl than before.

"Think you could keep it down?" Kona said with a little yawn, her head tilted to the side sleepily as she tried stuffing her sleeping bag back into her suitcase, "I think oversleeping gives me headaches, so if you don't mind..."

Ichigo smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Kona."

She was just about to stand up, when Kikyo motioned for her to stop as she wandered over to her closet, Ichigo staring curiously after her. For a moment, the older girl disapeared behind the broad doors; then, after a bit of rustling and muttering, she emerged with a black dress cradeled in her arms. Ichigo blinked.

"Here," She said plainly, setting it out on the dressing table, "I think it should fit. It's a little old, but you're smaller than me anyways."

It took that long for Ichigo to completely process what the girl was implying. "Y-you mean... you want _me_ to wear it?" She stuttered in astonishment. The dress was a beautiful thing; just past knee length with an angle-cut skirt, triangular neckline and red lining along the hems. The waist had been intentionally drawn in a little bit, and the translucent red sleeves just hung slightly off the shoulders. Ichigo gaped. "Thank you so much Kikyo!" She mouthed in a hushed voice.

All Kikyo did was smile. "I couldn't have you going on a date with your Aoyama-kun looking like that, could I?"

Ichigo flushed, looking down at herself. The only clothes she could find in her bag weren't nearly as fancy as she had thought; a frayed brown pleated skirt hung around her legs now, an unironed yellow sweater pulled around her shoulders. She sweatdropped nervously. "Eheh... I'm very grateful."

"Go change, Ichigo-chan!" Roxi chanted, practically tackling the girl from behind. For someone who had just suffered huge injuries, the panda-brunette was unusually energetic... especially considering that Kona and Yumi were aimlessly wandering around like zombies still from being woken up. She grinned. "C'mon! We really want to see what you look like!"

"Yeah... Ara..." Yumi agreed half-heartedly.

With a little smile, Ichigo held the dress up to her, examing how it looked against her natural colours in the mirror. _Aoyama-kun_... She hugged the dress to her chest, and stood to her feet to go change, _... I'll make sure you see me as my best._

--

_A rewind in memories - a few weeks earlier, and trouble brews in the air..._

Aoyama Masaya stepped out into the cool autumn air, black hair wafting in the breeze, his bag of books slung over his shoulder.

"I never thought that class would end," He said to himself, chuckling lightly as he wandered past the crowds of eager-to-leave High School students. Biology was interesting, sure, but the professor was horrible with lectures. _Sacrifice some good for some bad, I guess,_ He gave a little shrug, brushing the hair from his face with a hand. Having shadowed his vision temporarily, he didn't see the rapidly incoming figure.

_Crash!_

"Whoah!" Stunned, he stumbled backwards a few paces, but managed to catch his balance before toppling over. Attempting to regain his composure and make sure he hadn't dropped anything, Masaya only then noticed the girl who he'd seemed to almost _too_ easily knock over.

"Are... you alright?" He voiced in concern, stepping over to the blue haired girl sprawled out on the ground. She dramatically clutched at her side as she tried to sit up, looking up at the boy in an obviously-rehearsed daze. When she didn't say anything, he just smiled politely and offered her a hand.

"No, really, I'm fine," She assured him, but seemed to change her mind instantly as she grabbed his hand and _slowly _pulled herself to her feet. Making a miraculous recovery, the girl smiled graciously, bending over to pick up her books, "That was very sweet of you. _So sorry _about running into you like that..." She giggled schoolgirlishly.

"It's not your fault. I wasn't really looking where I was going..." Masaya said kindly. His eyes fell upon the grey and red uniform she was wearing, and something clicked in his head. "That dress... you go to Daikan Middle, right?"

"Yeah," She sighed in remorse, "The uniforms are so horribly plain, aren't they? I can barely stand them..." The girl looked at Masaya for some sort of reply, but he suddenly looked uncomfortable on the subject of clothes, "I guess you know someone there, then?"

"Actually, yes," He replied with a smile and a nod, "I used to go there, anyways, so I just recognize the uniform..."

"Wow, weird coincidence," She piped cheerily, shifting her lightweight books around in her arms as she straightened up. Then, pausing, she continued, "I really am sorry about the whole run-in. How about I make it up to you? We can go for coffee or something..."

"Oh." Masaya blinked. "Sure, I guess... So, uh..." He trailed off, realizing he was at a loss for the girl's name.

"Chiyako Ari," She answered the unspoken question proudly, thrusting her hand to her hip, "And you are?"

"I'm Aoyama Masaya. It's nice to meet you, Chiyako-san," He said slowly, smiling and bowing his head slightly.

Ari's blue-green eyes glinted in brief amusement. She lifted her hands, hurriedly waving the reference off. "_Please_, call me Ari, Aoyama-kun," She grinned, "No offense taken. I guess I'll see you tommorow for coffee, then?"

He looked a little baffled, but nodded all the same. "Alright, Ari-san... I guess I'll see you then."

"'Kay! Bye bye, Aoyama-kun!" She chanted eagerly, waving and turning away to hurry back down the road. When she was out of sight, she slowed her walk. The breeze lifted her hair all around, almost in a startlingly eerie way, specks of gold glinting through her dark human eyes. A wry smile twisted its way around Ari's lips.

"_Gotcha_."

--

_And present events ring..._

"Byyyye!" Ichigo waved happily back at her friends, who were gathered on the porch, trying to cover up eachother's wounds. Just earlier, Ichigo had been the priority ("_You're the one who has a date, Ichigo-chan. We've got to get you as pretty looking as possible,"); _for her hands and wrists, Kikyo had lent her some thick but stylish bracelets; all the girls had helped apply makeup to her face and neck, 'cover-up', if you will; and since she was too grateful to ask Kikyo for anything more, Kona offered her a small red jacket to pull over her shoulders. Even having looked in the mirror, Ichigo was surprised. And then, suddenly, she was giddy... because Masaya would see her again, after a long absense, dressed like a princess.

The girls on the porch waved and smiled back as Roxi was trying to comb Yumi's hair at an angle to cover a bruise on her forehead. "Good luck!" The brunette chanted happily, before issuing Yumi to sit still. The older two just offered wise and agreeing looks towards the dressed-up redhead, who beamed.

"'Kay! Thanks! I'll be back for my stuff tonight!" With a little giggle, Ichigo pulled the thin jacket more securely over her arms and headed off, a little bounce in her step.

_Aoyama-kun, Aoyama-kun.. _A little sing-song voice rang through her head_. Aoyama-kun, Aoyama-kun..._

As soon as she'd left, Kona gave a little sigh, putting a finger to her temple. When she recieved questioning looks for the others, she simply replied, "That girl's going to be either too depressed or too cheerful by the time this is over. Might as well give Ryou-san a heads up..." The others having seemed to accept this answer, she pulled out her own plain cellphone and flipped it open. _'CAFE' _was on the speed dial menu, so she selected that and waited for someone to pick up, chewing absently on her lip as she did so.

_And Ryou... maybe when you see she's happy with her love life as it is..._

_...you'll give up on her..._

--

He gingerly set the phone back down to the reciever after talking to Kona, his mouth pursed in a tight line. Ryou's blue eyes refused to leave it for a moment before he sighed and stepped away, digging his hands stubbornly in his pockets. "He was bound to come back sooner or later," The boy muttered angrily to himself, but it sounded more as if he were mourning. "Ichigo's _'Aoyama-kun'_... she'll never see anyone but _him_. It's not like with him gone for that long she was going to_ fall in lo_--"

His own voice was cut off by a faint noise from the distance. Ryou's mouth stopped moving, and he swiftly turned to face the basement doorway. Yes, it was coming from there. With brisk footsteps, he made his way over, down the stairs, to the computer from which the noise came. He blinked in surprise. Flashing on the screen was not another dot signalling an alien - no, it was a computer alert.

_DNA USER FOUND._

Suddenly not able to fully comprehend the situation, he slowly sank down into his seat, staring at the screen in blatant disbelief. "It..." A frown crossing his face, he began to type something in. The same thing popped up again. "...It's not possible," He breathed, blue eyes wide, fingers frozen hovering over the keyboard.

The bright text of the notice reflecting his eyes dimmed slightly as he lowered his gaze to the keys, his mind whirling through the possibilites_. It can't be... There's no way... I... I...!_

"There were only supposed to be _four_ of them," He murmured, finding no point in keeping a thought to himself in an empty cafe.

--

A few weeks after having first met Ari on campus, Masaya walked along the street, a small smile on his face. His studies had been getting in the way too much. He really was lucky to have Ichigo - she was so supportive, and seemed so happy to hear from him again, after he'd pretty much neglected her since the semester started. And now he got to spend some time with her. Maybe now that his studies were more under caps, that could happen a lot more in the future, too.

"I said... _'Michi'_s', right?" He spoke out loud, almost as if reminding himself. Masaya already knew where he was going. He would take Ichigo for a nice dinner - a date - and they could talk and catch up, and he could see her smiling face again. That had been one of the things he'd missed the most. Just thinking about it made him anticipate the meeting even more.

Within a few minutes, he had reached the appointed spot. There were umbrellas neatly leaned up against the railing, as there wasn't enough sun to bother anyone, anyways. Tables were still set up outside, just brought in more closely to the protection of the roof. A few people sat at the tables, eating or waiting for their order. His dark eyes scanned the area, but Masaya saw no signs of Ichigo anywhere.

"I guess I must be early," He said to himself under his breath, checking his watch. The boy had dressed a little formally for the occasion - he wore a white button-up shirt and a less-than-bulky vest overtop, as well as a pair of black dress pants. He felt a bit out of place, but he'd considered this a very important occasion. Even if Ichigo didn't dress up, at least she'd know he took the whole thing seriously and cared about her.

Not seeing her still, he decided to wait a few more minutes before checking inside. Standing off to the side of the outer patio, so he wouldn't recieve any strange glances as the possible 'stood-up-by-a-girl' guy, he stood straight and waited patiently, every so often glancing off to the side. Then, a few moments after, a voice echoed in the distance -

"_AOYAMA-KUN_!"

His face lit up, as he thought the source had been an approaching Ichigo. The expression lowered, however, when he realized it was just blue-haired Ari, running over in... a green dress?

Masaya felt his shoulders slump a bit, but put on a polite smile as she approached. It turned to one of concern when he saw the tears in her blue-green eyes, her face paler than usual.

"Aoyama-kun..." She panted, and then straightened up to look him in the eye, her eyebrows drawn together in worry, "...I have to...tell you something..."

--

"Hah! Sooo excited!"

Ichigo mumbled to herself in a peppy voice as she practically floated down the sidewalk, stars shimmering in her eyes. She could just imagine it now... and it wasn't just a lie this time! She was -_really- _going to meet her dark-eyed prince after being locked away for so long... It was almost too happy a moment to conceal her squeals of joy. Besides, she'd even left the cafe early. No prince was going to have to wait on her behalf.

"Oh! I'm going to tell him everything, and we'll have such a good time together, and he'll probably even take me out for a walk, and..."

The girl stopped in her tracks, the jacket around her swaying lightly in the wind. It was cold. No, that wasn't what was wrong - what _was _wrong? Ichigo had just suddenly gotten this very,_ very _bad feeling... almost as if something horrible were about to happen...

But what?

"Ichigo."

Her face paled. It was those voices again, wasn't it? Those ones that had terrorized her so many weeks ago, left her running through the park forest, running, running...

"Don't run away this time." Instead of just one voice, it seemed like a multitude molded together. "We need your help. Won't you help us?"

Amber eyes widened as she realized they _weren't_ the same voices. No, they were her new friends - Kona, Yumi, Roxi, even Kikyo... all of them speaking to her at once. She knew it wasn't them. Not really. But...

"Or you can go. Or you can leave us to _die_. It's all up to you..."

Putting a hand against her head, she felt a headache of confusion coming on. What did it mean? She still didn't know why these voices had ever come up in the first place. She shuddered, thinking what might have happened if she hadn't tripped... had that been the intention? What_ had _been the intention?

But hearing these voices again worried her. There was no one around. No danger in the air, aside from that looming feeling of insecurity. Ichigo suddenly felt worried.

"It can't hurt to check," She told herself, ignoring whatever the voices said next, "I'm early, anyways. Masaya's waited for me before. So it'll be no big deal."

Nodding to herself in agreement, Ichigo took off. If they were all right, she'd run back, apologize, be done with it. If they weren't...well...

She'd deal with that when she got there.

--

"I-Ichigo!" Kona cried in surprise as the redhead ran up to the front lawn. All of them looked a bit wide eyed, but were dressed in normal clothes and all in one piece. She glanced over at the cafe. Nothing out of the ordinary. Breathing out in relief, she put a hand to her head for feeling so stupid - _it was just your imagination, huh? _- and turned to walk away.

"Sorry," She muttered with a little laugh, "Guess I hallucinated again. I heard - "

"_Hallucinated?" _Turning to face Roxi, Ichigo was surprised to see not a look of laughter or criticism, but one of puzzled concern. She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Why are you shocked? All of you?" She noticed then they were all staring at her, then eachother, strangely. She blinked. "Hey, wait... why are you all here, anyways?"

"Me," An invisible voice said, and the heads all snapped around to see the air starting to glow as a tall figure formed herself on the ground, a short staff held crookedly in her hand. Hanajima smiled. "Thanks for coming to the party, ladies."

Immediately, all of them went from looking they'd been kicked from behind to battle stances, anger crossing their faces.

_Oh god... not now...! _Knowing she had no choice, Ichigo rushed to join them, praying she wouldn't wreck Kikyo's dress. When she saw the bloodthirsty look on Hanajima's face... she knew how unimportant it would be.

Kikyo would forgive her, eventually. As long as she lived.

"Mew Mew Strawberry! Metamorpha-_sis_!" Ichigo burst forth through the pink light, her newly coloured hair dancing around her face. _If I can get rid of her quickly enough... I can get to Masaya on time! _"Ribbon Strawberry --- Hua!" Just as she was making a dead-on-line for the alien, her body went right through, tumbling to the ground in a messy heap. Spirals in her eyes, she sat up, rubbing her head. "What was...that?"

She sat up to see the brown haired alien had positioned herself quite a few meters away in the opposite direction. Ichigo frowned as she stood back up, her body still stiff from the earlier battles. _How is that possible?... There's no way she could move that fast!_

Knowingly, the elder alien tapped her staff with a finger. "Don't underestimate the art of deception." Her eyes glowed menacingly.

"So you're the one who sent us those messages? In our heads?" Kikyo growled, and Ichigo turned to see the other four were fully transformed and ready to go. "I should have known. It was a trap."

Suddenly, everything made sense to Ichigo.

"_You_...!" She breathed in disbelief, staring at the alien with anger and puzzlement, "...That means... that means _you're _the one who sent me all those voices! Of my friends, that one time!"

The puzzle was fitting together. But Ichigo wasn't sure she wanted to see the resulting picture.

Hanajima greeted the accusation with a light smile. "You give me so much credit. I guess I should take it," She cocked her head, "But it was mostly _Ari's_ idea. She found you, and wanted you to transform and attack first. She could have destroyed you then, you know," Her voice lowered to a whisper, "But you got lucky. You were clumsy, and fell, and escaped the mindtrap. Stupid girl...lucky as you are. I should steal your luck as my own!"

"RIBBON CHERRY_ BURST_!" Roxi shouted, jabbing her wand in Hanajima's direction and creating a whole river of dangerous light, heading right in her direction. The enemy just cast an uncaring glance in her direction, fading away again, the attack hitting nothing. Roxi blinked. It only took a second, but a second was too long.

Appearing by her side, Hanajima roughly knocked her in the side with her staff, causing Roxi to cry out in pain and drop her weapon. She raised her Illusion Staff to strike the final blow, but was promptly interupted.

"You're the real one!_ Now I've got you_!" Kona cried out, running forward with her charged up bell. Hanajima just casually stepped to the side, grasping her staff and flicking it lightly to the left. Seeing there was no way for her to appear somewhere else, Kona opened her mouth to shout out the incantation, but her foot caught on something and she was hurled towards the ground.

Hanajima smirked. A root, hidden previously by her magic, had come into contact with Kona's shoe. Even worse, the ground around her, which appeared to be soft grass, was also a bunch of scattered rocks, hidden by magic. Feeling them scrape against her skin and draw blood, Kona cried out in excruciating pain.

Just to make it worse, Hanajima swiftly stepped up, slamming her boot down on the girl's back, the victim's cries drowning out everything else. Everytime she struggled, or tried to move, the rocks dug deeper into her skin, causing only more undescribable suffering.

Yumi frowned angrily, tears in the corners of her eyes, as she lifted her bell and prepared to attack from a distance. Hanajima caught this from the corner of her eye, and stepped away from the seriously-wounded Kona, holding her staff up again. This time, the air shook, and about ten copies of Hanajima appeared all around them, in a circle.

Ichigo winced. They all looked exactly the same. Even Yumi lowered her bell cautiously, knowing if she attacked wrong Hanajima would take advantage of that and throw her down, too. Kikyo grimaced, her eyes calculating the situation.

_How are we supposed to fight something when we don't even know it's there...?_ Keeping a cautious eye out, in case they were all illusions and Hanajima was just sneaking up, something dawned on Ichigo. Her eyes widened.

_Wait..._ She knew this battle didn't feel right. Looking from side to side, up and down, all around the entire area, Ichigo felt a shiver go up her spine.

_Where's..._

_...Ari?_

--

"Ari-san?" Masaya looked puzzled at the girl, who was trembling, obviously very upset by something. He was unsure what to do - was her life any of his business? They'd only met a few weeks ago, after all. Even though they'd been going for coffee together regularily, just to chat about meaningless things, he didn't feel emotionally attached to her at all. So the boy really wouldn't be surprised if Ari felt the same way - just a stranger who happened to be bumped into.

Still, she looked geniunely disturbed by something. A soft look crossing his face, he stepped back a bit and tilted his head. "Are you...okay?" Masaya asked slowly, almost nervously.

Her expression changed. Menace. "_Wench_," She hissed between clenched teeth, her fists curling up as she lowered her head, "Ungrateful. That witch, she's taken it all for granted, she --"

Uncomfortable with the sudden spew of insults, and not even knowing who the object of them was, Masaya interupted her quietly. "I'm sorry, Ari-san, I don't think I under..."

Relaxing a bit, and stepping dangerously close to the boy, Ari looked up at him with wide, worried eyes. "I'm so sorry... so... sorry..." She sniffed, pretending to un-rattle herself, "But you know... that girl? Your girlfriend?"

"Ichigo?" Masaya's eyes widened, and he nearly grabbed her by the shoulders. "What's wrong? What's happened to Ichigo? Is she alright?"

Ari just smiled and chuckled wistfully, the last sound cracking near a sob, "Oh, she's alright._ Perfectly _fine. To be running around like that, enjoying other boys' company..."

"What?" He sounded confused, but his dark eyes betrayed his trust for his red-haired kitten. Masaya heard perfectly well what Ari was implying - but he didn't believe it for a second. Ichigo would have never done anything like that. She was always too happy, too sweet, and he trusted that girl with all his heart. "Ari-san, I'm sure there's been some sort of mix-up..."

"_Mix-up_?" Now Ari sounded hurt and offended at the comment. Putting a hand to her heart, she recited sincerely, "I saw with my own eyes, Aoyama-kun. I saw that... that _trollop_ getting too close to my love interest for her own good. She knows how close the two of us had been getting. She took advantage of that and stole him from me, and I saw it all..."

"Ari-san, I-"

Ari continued on, not letting him speak. Masaya didn't notice how she was even still moving closer and closer to him. "It's okay. I've had my heart broken before. But... you don't deserve it. Just like she doesn't deserve you. I don't want to see you wounded, hurt... I just...just..."

Gingerly reaching up her hand, the girl brushed her pale fingers across his cheek. Masaya winced at the icy touch. "Ari-san, what are you -"

Before he could say anything else, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. It only took a second for the boy to register what was going on, and he didn't like it one bit. Trying to push her away, he managed a "What do you think you're _doing_?", but she stuck to him like glue, clinging to him, refusing to let go or be pushed away.

Anger and confusion welled up in him. And then suddenly, Masaya felt light headed, and he could feel his reality being pulled away from his eyes.

Then, it was dark.

--

"Wuaaah!" Yumi could only cry out as she was hurled forward by a blow from a staff. Crumpling to her knees, the horse-fused girl panted for breath, trying to retain her grip on the little bell in her hands. Ichigo watched helplessly. The others were trying to figure out what to do - she was trying to figure out _what was going on. _The absense of Ari was worrying her increasingly - since when did Hanajima battle it out alone? And the redhead couldn't help but notice how the older alien had no problems knocking her and the others down, but never seemed to finish the job. It was almost as if...

"Kahidra Blast!" Kikyo roared, sending a spiral of powerful energy at Hanajima. The image shifted, showing her aim was just off center, the attack missing completely. Hanajima could afford a simple smirk before snapping her Illusion weapon into the air. At that, Mew Kitsune's eyes snapped open and she clutched at her head, trying especially to cover her ears.

_She's making those voices come again, isn't she?..._

Ichigo gritted her teeth, still standing her ground. Without Ari here, Hanajima obviously had the space to use her power to full potential - but was that really all? She obviously didn't intend to do any serious damage. Just...

Her eyes widened in realization.

"It's just... a distraction," Ichigo breathed, her mind suddenly assuming the worst.

"Too slow again, neko," A voice from behind mused just seconds after. They all heard it. They all whipped around to face the ripple in the air, where Ari's glowing form was taking shape. Cradelled infront of her was some strange blob of light - Ichigo couldn't make it out yet, but shivered at the sense of impending doom. The vision slowly began to clear, revealing Ari floating before them triumphantly. Ichigo felt her bones turn to ice as her eyes fell over what - or more correctly, _who_ - Ari was holding.

"You took someone precious to me," The alien called out, clutching the unconsious Aoyama Masaya, draped between her arms, "And now I'm returning the favour, neko dearest."

With only a gleeful cackle, she faded off into the light again, taking Ichigo's hope with her.

--

_Next Chapter:_

_A life for a life - that's what Ari told Ichigo once. And now that the alien has revenge on her mind, there's no telling who she'll go after to hurt Ichigo next. And now that she has Masaya, held captive, Ichigo's bewildered and confused. But fear - fear isn't something she can afford anymore. To be afraid would be to inevitably lose all that is dear to her. And meanwhile, Ryou is distracted by the sudden presence of a fifth Blend DNA user - but that's not possible, is it?_


	13. A Fear Overcome

**xuri: **ZOMG halfway mark. xD That's right folks. Thirteen chapters down, thirteen to go. Meaning, if I can keep up this breakneck-update-pace, thirteen days until the final chapter. Duna. Duna. Dun dun dun dun dunnnn. -suspense- I bet you're sick of all this by now, but, meh. Deal with it. x3 (I love you all!)

SamKo: It actually is. xD Several times as I'm typing these Masaya luvluv chapters, I'm tempted to simultaneously gag and suddenly write 'Just then, Ichigo realized her love for ugly Masaya was FAKE and her REAL love was a certain blonde bishounen who had always been there for her!' -fangirl squeal- xD However, not only would that be breaking character (in this fic anyway), it would distract from the plot. And we don't want that. No no nos. So I restrain myself. xD And yeah, that's anagrams. I think. ;3 Basically, I'm trying to figure out an anagram that would sound like a computer program name for either LOVELY or MIZUKI, but they're long words so it mostly comes out as jumbled nonsense. Tragic.

Applecake: Fwee, I couldn't stop smiling when I read your uberly long review. Especially when it came to the part about Ari being so evil it's adorable. Which is true, really. -hugs Ari plushie- And I'm especially proud of her because she's the only OC that I own _completely_, even though most of these characters were fleshed out by me anyways. Yay Ari. -heart- Heee, I'm so happy people aren't on a killing rampage because of the length. The last three chapters especially are really...really...long. xD Is it so obvious that I like words? Because I do. I do like words. That's why I use so many of them. Wow. What talent. xD

**Blend (chapter thirteen)**

**...a fear overcome...**

Ichigo fell to her knees.

The world seemed to fall all around her, as she stared at the empty space infront of her eyes where Ari had been just moments ago, holding her Masaya, knocked out, hurt, in her arms. Now they were gone. They were both gone.

And for once, Ichigo had absolutely nothing to say.

"U...unh..." Breathing heavy, Kona managed to push herself upright from the rocks without deepening her already-bleeding wounds, her body seeming too weak to function. Her blue eyes flickered in search of Hanajima, but she had disapeared along with Ari. She would have grimaced, but it hurt too much. Ichigo had been right. That entire attack had just been a distraction.

_Ari must have known somehow, about Ichigo and Aoyama-san's date... what perfect timing, then, and how well it worked that we were so easily fooled..._

"Ichigo..." The girl managed, dragging her body away from the rocks and onto the soft grass where she could sit more comfortably. Her black-gloved fingers ran across her face, rubbing little streaks of dried blood from her skin. "I'm... I'm sorry...," She said slowly, carefully, and when she got no response from the heap that was Ichigo, she continued, "We should have been more careful... I dunno... but-"

Roxi was up now too, quietly. She hadn't been wounded as badly, but whatever had happened to her was ten times worse because of the damage from the previous day that was still healing. Transforming back into her normal form, the brunette walked over to the wildcat-girl's side, and then gently laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Ichigo-chan," She said softly, tilting her head to see the face hidden from view, "We'll get him back for you. Aoyama-senpai will be OK..."

"But Ari..." Ichigo choked, a tear splashing to the ground. She lifted her head to look at Roxi, her pink eyes brimming with tears, her face stained with the ones that had already fallen, "_Ari_ has him, Roxi! She... she wants me to suffer... and she'll do it through him!" Sniffling, she managed to hold off for another second before wretching a sob and flinging forward, hugging Roxi tightly and crying into her shoulder. Looking only a little alarmed, Roxi hugged her back, patting her gently on the head.

"It'll be okay," She soothed, and silently looked up at Kona and the others, "We promise."

Kikyo was already up, and was helping Yumi climb to be feet, both silent amid the crying of Ichigo. It filled the air with sounds of sorrow, fear, helplessness... emotions she conveyed to them only too well. And they all stood around her, searching for words of comfort, and they knew -- they _knew_ they would have to find Ari and Masaya.

--

"Thanks, Roxi," Ichigo said in a muffled voice, still a little weak from the earlier outburst. She was sitting currently in Roxi's kitchen, dabbing at her face with a fluffy white towel, for lack of any tissues or Kleenex. Roxi was sure she had some, somewhere in this house... the girl sweatdropped. It just seemed like too much work, and, besides, she didn't have the heart to leave Ichigo alone.

The girl was a wreck. She'd stopped crying a few minutes ago, and the girls said they'd go report to Ryou and Keiichiro as soon as possible. But even now, Ichigo's face was streaked with tears, her amber eyes red and her nose sniffly. Even just her expression was in a sad kind of pain, regardless of any faux smiles she tried to put on. The dress Kikyo had gived her was laid out on the table before her now, a bit scratched up, and Ichigo now wore a baggy hoodie and skirt borrowed from Roxi.

"It's no problem," She replied quietly with a little shrug, and went to just quickly scan the kitchen. Ichigo seated herself on a stool, covering her face in the towel as she tried to calm down some more.

She just wasn't sure it was working.

Everytime she tried to think _'calm down Ichigo, stop crying, clear your head,', _she kept getting this image of Masaya being pulled into the darkness by unrelenting Ari, her mind's eyes zooming in on his blank and unconsious face. It brought the tears again, and she buried her face where no one could see it.

_Aoyama-kun... Oh, god, why is this happening?... How can I just be sitting here, while you're in danger? I should be helping! I should..._

But the girl was hardly in a state to do anything, let alone help. She just brought her knees to her chest in a tight hug, and let the tears come out silently until they wouldn't come anymore. It was then Roxi walked over with something in her hands.

"Well, we don't have any kleenex..." Roxi looked annoyed at that - who didn't have tissues in their house, anyways? - but held the plate in her outstretched hands, "But we've got chocolate." She grinned. "It's the next best thing."

--

"So... what's the problem?"

"We _told _you," Kona repeated loudly, trying to get Ryou's attention. He wouldn't pull away from the screen infront of him. "Aoyama-san's been _kidnapped _by _Ari._ We have no idea _why,_ but Ichigo thinks it's a way to get back at_ her_. It's...- are you even_ listening_?"

Ryou shrugged as Kona snapped at him, and the other girls just stepped aside. "Mm-hm, I am. I don't see what you think you're going to do about it..."

Kona glowered at that, her blue eyes taking on a look of menace. "Isn't it obvious?" she growled, "We're going to _rescue _him,_ baka_."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "Did you just - " Pausing, the boy decided to ignore the 'idiot' comment, and continued typing, taking a swig from his water bottle. "And just how do you all plan to go about doing that? It's not like you can just run around town and hope to find her. The alien's probably hiding this time, with that boy."

There was silence in response to that. Ryou, content with the short explanation, set his bottle down and went to furiously typing on his keyboard again, blue eyes scanning through the information on the screen almost hungrily. For a few moments, Kona was quiet, before she sighed to herself. "You want to know what _I _think?" She went on bitterly. Obviously, Kona didn't _care _what Ryou thought about what she thought, because she continued without so much of a nod as consent, "I think you couldn't care less about this boy being hurt. In fact, I think that's what you _want_."

At this, Ryou stopped, the clattering of keys halting. Then in one abrupt movement, he shifted around to face her, expression dead serious. "Do you honestly think I'm not taking this seriously?" He questioned calmly, "That I see this all as some big joke, that I can do as I please without consequence?"

"No," Kona matched him in her serious tone. "_I _think you want Aoyama-san out of the picture so you can have Ichigo all to _yourself_."

"Ehm," Clearing her throat, Roxi quickly stepped up to keep an awkward silence from befalling the room. When both heads, as well as Kikyo and Yumi's behind her, turned to face the girl, she realized she had better have something to say for interupting such a dramatic conversation. Then it popped into her head, thank god. "Have you searched for any tracings of Ari nearby, Ryou-san? If we can even get an idea of where she is, then..."

Turning back to the computer, he blipped out of something and pulled up a digital map on the screen. "I have it on the monitor, but nothing's shown up yet," He replied grimly, not noticing a frusterated Kona walking away, "I'll keep it on alert, though. Until then... there's really nothing for you to be doing. The aliens have their presences pretty well masked, so it's almost impossible to track them down, even if they are nearby." He turned his head to look at the girls, standing to his feet, "So really, all you girls can do now is go home and act normally. If you find any leads, no matter how small, wait until you are all together before going out and trying anything. We don't want to find _any_ of you beaten and unconsious."

Ryou glanced at them, and they all nodded in confirmation, Kona a bit grudgingly. Right afterwards, he dismissed them, and they all headed back up the stairs, talking quietly. Once all four had left, he shut the door behind them and made his way back over to the computer, sitting back down. The boy clicked around a bit, checking for any signs of Ari, just like he promised, before opening another window entirely. It was a map as well, but there were red lines traced along streets, as well as a blinking red dot. The sight of it seemed to invite a frown to his face.

"Avoiding roads and public areas... straying mostly in parks and forests..." The light of the computer shining into his eyes made him blink, and furrow his brows.

"...So... _who are you_?"

--

_"I'll see you tommorow, Ichigo-chan,"_ Roxi had said, just as the mentioned redhead stepped down from the porch of her friend's house. As Ichigo walked home in silence, she wasn't so sure. _'See you tommorow' _had been such a simple, innocent phrase - Roxi had just been talking about school, and the cafe. But that seemed so unlikely, as common as it usually was.

For one thing, she doubted she'd be getting much sleep. And for another... well, how could she just bear school and cafe duties, when her boyfriend was out there somewhere, under the captivity of an alien?

Her mouth felt sour. Of course, there was always the possibility it was an illusion, created by Hanajima. She checked her cell phone while crossing the street. _No calls. _Ichigo sighed in distress. If it had been an illusion, Masaya would have gone to the restaurant, and waited, and when she didn't show up, he'd call to ask what was wrong. So, there disapeared that tiny thread of hope.

Now all she had to hold onto was the danger he was in.

Upon arriving back home, Ichigo skipped her meal (she hadn't the slightest idea what time it was, and she felt sick anyways) and went straight to her room. She dumped the contents of her sleepover bag, and changed out of Roxi's borrowed clothes and into her pyjamas, before plunking face down on her bed.

"A...Aoyama-kun," She whispered, blinking back the mist of tears she felt gathering in her eyes. All that plagued her mind was thought after thought, horror after horror. So Ichigo closed her eyes, tried to shut her mind off.

And to her dull surprise, the girl fell asleep almost instantly.

It must have been the fatigue, she reasoned with her dream-self; after all, how tired must Ichigo have been after engaging in a difficult battle, and then having to spend the rest of the day in a state of reckless worry? Her body accepted sleep the moment it offered its careful hand. And with that, she was whisked off to a (hopefully) pleasant dream.

Her mind decided to show mercy that night. There were no horrible darknesses, no voices taunting her stress, no fire dancing around important images. At first, there was nothing, but slowly little dabs of flowers and gentle music began to flood her mind's eye, and Ichigo felt oddly comforted and safe. The sky was drawn in gentle, pastel colours, meeting the soft green grass in a gentle blending. It was like a sanctuary; quiet, comforting, sacred. She breathed the mind-created air and relaxed, the cheerful images playing out all around her.

It was interrupted soon enough.

"_Who's missing from this picture?"_ In her warm daze, Ichigo was unsure whether she had really heard it or not. She felt her own reply coming easily, without a second thought.

"My Masaya..." She answered with a sigh, imagining the feel of grass against her palms, "Where is he? Where's Aoyama-kun?"

_"Aoyama-kun, Aoyama-kun... but he won't come, will he?"_

Ichigo pouted at that, trying to scoot over to the flowers, almost in hope they would make the soft voice go away. "Why not? Why won't Aoyama-kun come?"

_"...Because he's my prisoner..."_

Just like that, the entire dream-image shattered before Ichigo's eyes, into a million glass shards. They fell all around her, decorating the darkness she was now surrounded by. As if awoken from a spell, Ichigo stared in horror, memories flooding to her attention. "Where is he?" She demanded more strongly this time, but feeling weak on the inside.

_"Somewhere you can't go... never."_

"How am I supposed to help him, then?"

_"Meet me,"_ It echoed in reply, almost joyously in torment, _"In the place we first met. Not as a facade, but where you met the real me, the fear that constantly grows in your heart."_

"I don't _fear_ you, Ari," Ichigo growled, feeling anger bubbling in her chest, "I'm not afraid of you."

There seemed to be laughter in response to that, fading off into the distance until silence was all she could hear. Then her mind stirred, and Ichigo opened her eyes back to reality.

For a moment, she just stared up at the ceiling, almost in wonder. Then, her eyes shut, and when they opened again, were filled with a sort of determination.

"I'm not afraid of you, Ari," Ichigo whispered.

--

That morning, Ichigo marched downstairs, intense determination flaring in her eyes. Then, when Sakura Momomiya caught sight of her and rushed over to greet her, she remembered the plan. And wondered why it had escaped her attention.

"Eh...ha!" Instantly, she let out a cough, bending over and clutching the stairframe for effect. Her mother stopped in her tracks, a look of confusion appearing on her face instead of worry. Ichigo winced. In an attempt to be more convincing, she let out a few more coughs and clutched at her chest, quickly running a hand through her hair to make it looked mussed (instead of carefully combed down with hairspray and gel). Unable to see her mother from the angle she sat, Ichigo waited nervously.

"Ichigo...?"

"Uh, uh, I feel really s-sick!" She sputtered, standing upright and stumbling a bit to the side. Sakura blinked. Then, letting out an anxious giggle, the red haired girl quickly turned around, let out a few more coughs,and hurried up the stairs. She could could hear her mother calling a short 'But - ' from behind, before she disapeared into her own room and shut the door.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ichigo leaned up against the door, ignoring any muffled protest. _Sick people are too busy being sick,_ she reminded herself, and waited until they stopped. When she heard her mom and dad talking in their normal cheery chatter, she knew the coast was clear and she was no longer the center of attention.

Glancing at the clock, she started grabbing some clothes to change into - something she could easily move around in. Afterwards, the girl grabbed a smaller backpack and put her cellphone, as well as some other trinkets, inside. She slung it over her shoulder, and quickly checked outside her door, peering down the staircase. Her mother seemed occupied, preparing some sort of food off in the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, she crept back into her room and over to the window, sliding it open and clambering over the edge.

"I'll be back soon," Ichigo silently promised herself as she sprung from the windowsil to a tree using her cat reflexes.

"Right now, I need to find Aoyama-kun."

--

Roxi wasn't surprised. Really, she wasn't.

"Momomiya Ichigo, absent," The secretary stated, glancing up from the computer at the inquiring. Roxi sighed. But she'd expected that, hadn't she?

"Okay, thanks," She managed a little smile, but the woman didn't seem to care. She just went back to her work, wordlessly sending Roxi away.

The girl had come to the administrator's office for one simple reason - Ichigo wasn't at school. Cherri had said it well enough_. "Either she's really, really, reaaaallly late, or something traumatic happened. Or, she could just be sick. That seems too normal for Ichigo, though."_ And hadn't Roxi even told herself the girl would be out of it, if she showed up at all? Even now, she didn't believe for a second that the girl was ill.

Illness of the_ heart_, maybe. Ichigo was so loyal to that boy - that Masaya - that Roxi wouldn't be surprised if the strawberry-head had already plunged off a cliff for his sake. She hoped it hadn't come to that. But, with a glance to the clock, Roxi was helpless to do anything for... about another 4 hours. She sighed in distress as she headed for her locker.

_School. Why does it have to interfere with saving the world?_

--

A pink length of fabric fluttered around the corner of a building. A man passing by blinked, perhaps thinking he had been seeing things, before swiftly moving on. He had business to take care of, after all. Pink things were hardly enough to distract him from that.

Pressing her body up against a wall, Ichigo tilted her head to see out the alley and breathed in relief. There were too many people around. Looking down at herself, she couldn't help but think that transforming ahead of time wasn't the _best_ idea. Besides that, she now held her strawberry bell in a pink gloved hand - if anyone saw, they'd either be very confused or ready to _'shoot the mutant'._

All the more reason for Ichigo to hurry.

Making sure that no one else lurked around the corner, Ichigo hurried on, darting from side to side and always checking to ensure there was no one around. No one was. It was an abandoned alley, after all. The alley where alien Ari and transformed Ichigo had met, face to face, true forms. Was she reluctant to believe a dream-voice? A little. Under normal circumstances, she would have hesitated, even waited for further notice before jumping out and doing something like this. But this was _Masaya. _Any leads, any clues... she wouldn't hesitate, not for a second, if it meant a way to find him.

_I will find you!_

Dashing quickly around another corner, Ichigo took a second to catch her breath before moving on. This had to be where Ari meant, right? In her dream, she - whether it was a conjuration of Ichigo's imagination, or an actual message - had said, specifically "_Meet me in the place where we first met_". That wouldn't have been the school, then, right? Why would she want to fight, or at least confront, Ichigo in a_ Science classroom_? Besides... hadn't Ari even said to meet where they met as 'not as a facade, but where you met the real me'? As in, the real _alien _Ari?

"This has to be it," She panted, hurrying swiftly down the abandoned alleyway, "This_ has _to be!"

She didn't notice the black feather that drifted to the ground behind her footsteps.

Keeping up the pace, she began to feel as if she were running in circles. Around, and around, without a destination... but she had to be getting close. She remembered, almost exactly, the spot in the alley where Ari had snuck up on her, threatened and revealed herself for who she really was, and what her intentions were. It was implanted in her memory. Now she just had to find it.

"Ari!" She shouted, not expecting an answer. She was nearly out of breath, nearly on the verge of having to slow down. She just wanted to feel like she was doing something...

That's when she heard it. "Ichigo..." Her running lurched to a halt. Ichigo's eyes widened, and she felt her blood turn to ice. That voice hadn't been Ari's.

_...It was Masaya's._

Whirling around, she was faced with the rippling air-image of two people, slowly coming into view. Ari, her alien ears protruding from her dark blue hair, wore a heavy overcoat, hands buried deep in the pockets. She was smirking. But that didn't have Ichigo's attention.

The pink-haired catgirl was focused solely on the dark haired boy leaning against the wall beside her.

"Ao...yama-kun!" She cried, and instinctively ran forward. A hand forcefully shot out infront of her face, blocking her way, not allowing her to come any closer. Ari cast her a sidelong glance.

"You remembered," The alien noted, almost in glee. With a thoughtful look, she glanced absently up at the sky, smiling tauntingly. "You remembered. How_ sweet_. I'd have thought you would have been running around blindly." Then she laughed.

While Ari was seemingly distracted with her own childish taunts, Ichigo attempted to duck under her hand and run at Masaya. She only got a few steps closer when a cold hand grabbed at her arm, jerking her backwards.

"No candy for you, neko," Ari seethed and smiled, pulling Ichigo over to face her. Ichigo flinched, feeling her nails digging into her skin.

"L-let him..." Biting her lip, Ichigo mustered her most brave look, "..._Let him go_!"

"Ah-ah-ah," She clicked her tongue and wagged her finger, as if lecturing a young child, "What fun would that be? You haven't learned a thing. Neko should know _nothing in life is free_..." Her last remark had a strangely serious air to it.

"What do you want?" Ichigo demanded, only to feel Ari's icy grip on her bare arm tighten. She didn't let the pain show on her face. She just frowned, and breathed in deep. _You're not afraid, Ichigo. Don't let her think you're afraid! _"I'll fight you! Is _that _what you want? To see me hurt, to see me and everyone I care for suffer? _Just give me Masaya back_!"

With a remorseful sigh, Ari flashed her a grin and shoved the girl roughly backwards, quite a few paces away. When Ichigo caught her balance, she saw the alien standing just to the side of Masaya, her arms out at her sides, the long sleeves of her overcoat almost reaching her fingertips. "Maybe so," She said softly, and licked her lips. Then, in a booming voice, she continued, "Or maybe I want revenge. A loss for a loss. Pain for pain. I told you already, Ichigo-neko; _You _took someone precious from me. So_ I've _just returned the favour."

"What are you_ talking _about?" Ichigo cried in disbelief, brushing a hand over the nail-marks on her arms, "You keep telling me I've... I've _bewitched _Kishu. I don't know how you got that idea into your head, Ari..." Gritting her teeth in an attempt to look stronger, she planted her feet firmly in the ground, feeling hatred burning in her eyes, "...but have you ever thought how_ delusional _that claim is? Why would I want to _bewitch _an alien?"

Anger flashed in the other's eyes, but it was replaced by something amused, something cruel. "I don't question the motives of a _sorceress_," She said quietly, a wisp of hair falling over her eyes, "I just let her suffer how much we have. You can't possibly know what my kind has been through..."

"How was I _supposed _to know?" Ichigo shot back, taking a determined step forward. She knew what the aliens had lived under, why Kishu and the others had come to Earth in the first place. And she knew there was no way she could fully understand the extent of their suffering, but... how was Ari attacking her supposed to help? "What does that have to do with Masaya? What do I have to do to get him back?"

Ari shrugged at that, passing it off as unimportant. Clearly, she was not here to argue further about the many faults of Ichigo. _Another day. _"He's mine, of course. Finders keepers," She revealed a sly grin at that, waving her hand to keep Ichigo from charging her just then. "But you seem to really care about him, neko. How about I make you a deal?..."

She left it at that, obviously waiting for Ichigo's consent. The catgirl visibly hesitated, trying to look as defensive as possible. _Could this just be another trap?.. _"What?" She asked coldly, keeping a solid glare.

Sighing, she made a '_tsk tsk' _sound and a little mutter about her attitude, before holding a hand out, palm face up. A dagger rested in her palm. "I believe you have the other one," She said slowly, her golden eyes trailing down to meet the metal object, "It doesn't matter. But just so you know, don't underestimate me... My power is still the same." Obviously, the stare Ichigo gave her prompted her to _'get to the point' _wordlessly. "But I have a proposition. You offered a fight. I'll give you a fight. No weapons for me, no weapons for you. A true test of power and strength. If you can fight me off, you can have your little Aoyama back... if not..." She sniggered at that, cocking an eyebrow, "Well, I've won then, haven't I, neko?"

"Fighting?" Gripping her Strawberry Bell defensively, she levelled a glare with Ari. "Why would I do that? Why would _you _do that?... More importantly, why would I even_ trust _you? Anytime, let alone _in hand-to-hand combat_?"

"Come now, you're not really going to hide behind your little_ fuzz-bell _all this time, are you?" Shaking her head in disapointment, Ari shifted the direction of her arm so she held the sai sideways, clutched tight in her fingers, "You know I'll only grow immune to it eventually, anyways. Besides. You don't have a choice..." Ichigo's eyes widened in horror when she realized how Ari had backed up, and was now pressing the side of the knife against Masaya's neck. The unconsious boy winced and Ichigo could see blood. "Or, maybe you do. But I don't think you'd like the alternative..."

"Stop!" Ichigo cried with a little sob, not tearing her eyes away from Masaya. On the verge of tears, she swallowed, as Ari pulled the weapon only an inch away, ready to close in again if she tried anything. Squeezing her eyes shut, Ichigo took a deep breath and set her bell down, taking a few steps away from it. "Fine. I'll... fight you," She said quietly, closing her fists and looking off to the side. "Just... just don't hurt him..._ please _don't hurt him..."

Ari grinned. "I knew you'd like it."

Releasing her hold on the knife, everything else was silent as the metal clattered against the concrete, greeted by the usual sounds of cars rushing by and refineries blasting their horns. The sound of civilization, off in the distance, too far away to reach and yet close enough to boom in Ichigo's ears...

"_GO_!" The moment the weapon lay still against the cold surface, Ari sprang forward, tackling Ichigo in the gut before she could react at all. She landed with a thud on the ground, swearing she heard a crack, and lay temporarily paralyzed as Ari aimed a punch at her face. Letting out a squeak, Ichigo managed to roll out of the way, catching her breath and climbing hastily to her feet. Ari took a run at her again, but she was quick to dodge, and sent a light kick at the alien in hopes of knocking her over. As Ari struggled to catch her balance again, Ichigo's eyes fell over her bell that lay only a few feet away. She could get rid of Ari then. But then her gaze cast upon Masaya, who was also only a pace away from Ari. Ichigo felt her muscles tense. _There's no way I can put him at risk like that..._

Obviously quick on the uptake, Ari was eager to fight back, a wild grin on her face. She charged sideways at Ichigo, who only barely managed to sidestep out of the way without a chance to return the attack. Ichigo felt a harsh rap on her shoulder, and clutched it momentarily from Ari's hit. "Ungh..." The alien's energy wasn't going down at all. In fact, the fighting only seemed to make it grow, and Ichigo could swear she could see her power radiating from her skin.

"_Kishu-sama_!" Ari called out with a wild laugh, her gloved hands trailing idly across her lips before she jumped back into the fray. "Don't you see? Don't you see how weak this witch_ really _is?"

"Enough!" Ichigo screamed, and leapt high into the air, trying to land a fumbled jump-kick at Ari. All it resulted in was the alien grabbing her by the ankle, pulling her down, and Ichigo managing to push the other to the ground before she fell herself. Gasping and feeling as if her skin were raw from all the scratches and bruises, Ichigo struggled to get up. Her lips began to move, barely able to form words. "There's no reason for you to be doing this, Ari...!"

"Oh, but there is! For Kishu-sama..." One minute, Ichigo heard the words from a distance, and the next from directly above her. Her head snapped upright. Ari positioned her own gloved fist. "...And ifor you/i!" The hard attack hit Ichigo square in the face, sending a riot of pain through her jaw. Letting out a scream of pain, Ichigo felt her leg hit a wall as she tumbled a few paces back, hand clutching a slightly bloodied cheek. Her body wanted so badly to submit, to slip into unconsiousness so she wouldn't have to feel this anymore. But her heart still saw Masaya, still safe, still untouched. What would Ari do to him if Ichigo was out? Wasn't her goal to just hurt her more?

"A-aoyama-kun..." She breathed, straightening up, trying to summon all her power. "I'll stay strong... I'll stay strong, for you..." Taking one last breath, she dashed forwards, feeling her power eminating from her fingertips. Apparently Ari felt it too. And for one brief moment, she looked frightened. Ichigo hazily thought just seconds later that maybe it had all been a facade. Maybe it had just been a trick, so when Ichigo went in for her attack, Ari would have the chance to grab her arm, twist her around, and get the girl into a headlock with her arm wrapped around her neck. Or maybe, Ichigo thought, trying to keep her airway open, maybe she really had been afraid.

"You're such a brat, neko," Ari growled, narrowing her eyes and tightening her grip. Ichigo tried to gasp. "Getting in the way of everything. But you're nothing special. If you didn't have these animal powers... you'd be nothing. You _are_ nothing."

Somewhere in speaking, Ari loosened her grip only slightly around Ichigo. Just slightly enough. Taking the chance, Ichigo's hands flew up and gripped her sleeve, and not having any other way to fight back, she bit hard into the alien's arm. Crying out in shock more than pain, Ari released her, and Ichigo dashed forward, making a dive for her Strawberry Bell. She was hit hard in the back first, knocked to the ground with a thud. Sputtering, Ichigo rolled onto her back hastily in an attempt to get up, only to have Ari pin her down by shoulders, kneeling on top of her.

Ichigo faintly noticed, in her own try for breath, that Ari was breathless herself, some sweat having gathered on the blue haired girl's brow. _At least she's not invincible, _Ichigo mused silently to herself, and made a growling noise in her throat as she struggled against the hold.

Ari hesitated, and then grinned, staring down at Ichigo with firey gold eyes. Then, without warning, her left hand shot up from one of her captive's shoulder, and before the catgirl could do anything, she felt the length of an arm press its way across her neck and saw something glint in the dim sunlight.

Her pink eyes widened. "You..." She was unable to move, unable to struggle, even her muscles refusing to budge any further. But Ari was right above her, with a bronze dagger clutched in her hand, held and pointed a few feet above Ichigo's chest. Just the sight made her feel faint. "...You said _no weapons_..."

Ari just grinned. "_Witches_ don't play by the rules," And with a wild look of excitement in her eyes, she reeled her arm back and thrust the sai at Ichigo's heart. Ichigo felt everything turn to a piercing white, her mind numbing itself, everything seeming to freeze at that moment, that one second, even the swirling of her mind coming to an abrupt halt.

There was a loud clash of metal, and outcry, and then Ichigo felt the weight of Ari being knocked off of her. Wait. Was she supposed to feel anything, when she was dead? Still hardly able to think, her hand immediately flew to her right side, to her heart, where she felt no wound and no blood. Her eyes closed and she felt the sheet of panic lifting off of her, letting heavy coughs and heaves through that would not come before. As she tried to catch her breath and clear up her mind, Ichigo heard a fight going on - yelling, cursing, all too jumbled for her to make out. There were more clashes of metal, but not as many; as she rolled onto her side, Ichigo felt the cool metal of Ari's dagger brush up against her arm.

_Is it him?_ It only occured to her then, that whoever had appeared and was now fighting Ari was the elemental swordsman. No, that couldn't be it. She heard only two voices; one was the screeching, cursing voice of the alien Ari. The other was distinctly female.

_So..._ Ichigo lay perfectly still, unable to move. She willed her muscles to break free of their tension, but they were still recovering, and her mind was still a mess from the near death panic. _..Who is it then?_

Something happened then, something Ichigo couldn't see. She could barely even make it out with her ears, but the battle had ended. One last swing of a metal weapon, and a body crumpling to the ground, letting out a few angry words before the voice faded off into the distant. Then it was silent, though she could hear gentle footsteps.

_I want to see her... I want to know who she is... _Finally finding the will to move, Ichigo pressed her hands against the ground and pushed herself up, opening her eyes with much difficulty and tilting her head so she could see forward. Her vision was blurred and shaky, so horribly she almost missed the figure there. But she saw, faintly - dark from head to toe, long black hair waving lightly in the wind. And there were wings - black wings. Or... was there only one?

"You..." Ichigo only managed to say in a breath. She heard the sound of a sword entering its sheath with a click. She wanted to ask who she was, thank her, talk to her, something... But her arms chose that moment to give out on her, sending her face flat against the ground again. When she managed to cough the dust out of her lungs and look up again, the figure was gone. So was Ari. She looked from side to side - she was alone.

_No. No, I'm not,_ Eyes falling over Masaya, energy and strength suddenly sparked back into her body and she practically leapt over to where he was, grabbing him gently but firmly by the shoulders.

"Aoyama-kun!" She choked, having to try several times to get her voice as she shook the boy almost violently. A tear ran down her face in desperation. "Aoyama-kun... Aoyama-kun! Please, _please_, wake up!"

"Ih..."

After being shaken quite enough, the boy's eyes squeezed tightly, and then slowly opened, focusing in on the pink haired girl before him. Ichigo's eyes widened in relief. "...Ichigo?"

"Aoyama-kun!" She cried out, tears splashing from her eyes and she sprang forward and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder. Realizing he might be hurt, she quickly pulled away, looking him over quickly. "Masaya... are you alright? What did she do? Did she hurt you? Poison you? Do you know who I am? Are - "

A little bit of life returned to his dark eyes as he chuckled softly, a chuckle of someone exhausted. "I'm fine, Ichigo," He said rather hoarsely, but smiled. "Are you okay, though? You look... Oh, Ichigo, I didn't realize the aliens had come back. I'm so sorry." There was a look of guilt on his face, but Ichigo couldn't figure out why. It was as if he'd done something he shouldn't have.

A smile trembled onto her lips, and she sniffed a little bit. "How could you have? I'm just so glad you're not hurt... I was so scared!"

Masaya just smiled again, shifting a bit as his body seemed to be in the process of waking up still. "Don't worry, Ichigo... just... smile. It's you."

With that, the pink haired girl pulled Masaya into a tight hug again, crying a little bit out of relief and pent up worry. Holding him tightly against her, she let the tears run from her eyes, leaning against Masaya's shoulder and holding the back of his head gently with her hand.

"I'll never let her take you away from me again, Masaya," She whispered, and closed her eyes. "_Never_."

--

_Next Chapter:_

_The heart is a fragile thing - so easy to darken, so simple to break. The strings of Kona's heart have been pulled especially lately, making her vulnerable and easy to hurt. It becomes a simple task for an enemy to find that weakness and exploit it for all that it's worth. With Ichigo temporarily unable to participate, in battle or in work, things are becoming a little edgy for all the girls. Not to mention the mysterious appearences of a one-winged angel..._


	14. Darkening Hearts of Pure

**xuri:** Boo! Oh, wow, it's almost August. Which means summer is almost over. Tragedy. T-T Although, Blend will be all done_ before _Summer's over, so look forward to that. ;3 Anywho, n'case anyone cared, I'm almost halfway done the character drawings. Yeah. There are_ that _many. I didn't even realize how many OC's were/are to be in this story until I had to sketch them out one... by one... by one...

SamKo: Oh yes, you caught that one. x3 I've actually been hinting at this pairing a bit in earlier chapters. Sorta. Subtly. Wonder if anyone caught the subtleness/not so subtleness? x3 And as for Kishu... Yes, he's showing up at some point. No, I'm not going to say when. xD And I'm very sorry about the eye bleeding. If I'm ever employed, I will totally pay for the medical bills. :D

--

**Blend (chapter fourteen)**

**..darkening hearts of pure...**

He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. Rubbing her eye sleepily with one hand, Ichigo smoothed back Masaya's hair gently, looking down at his face quietly. His eyes were closed, his eyebrows in a position that suggested rest, his lips curled into a very faint smile. It was comforting. After having spent what seemed like hours, but was actually only 10 minutes, holding him and waiting for something to happen, Ichigo was tired and it was good to not have to worry anymore.

Ryou entered the room again, looking bored even though his eyes were trying not to look at the scene before him. In a bit of a daze, Ichigo sat up, looking at him expectantly. He didn't say anything. A little part of her panicked, and she was reminded by common sense that the blonde did things like that, just to tease her. She frowned, but was silent. Obviously having enough of that, the conscious boy shrugged.

"He's perfectly healthy," He said, but those simple words seemed to literally lift a weight off Ichigo's shoulders. With a broad smile, she slunk down in her chair slightly, looking ready to fall asleep. "The doctor said his symptoms looked a lot like sleeping pill overdose, but he's fine now. They want to keep him overnight for medical purposes, just to monitor it, so you can go home."

Ignoring the over-stressed suggestion, Ichigo turned to look at the dark haired boy again, tilting her head. "That's what Ari did to you then, didn't she?" She murmured softly, resting her hand on his warm forehead and closing her own eyes for a second. "She gave you some kind of poison... Thank god it was just that. Thank god you're going to be okay..."

When it was quiet again, and Ichigo gave no signs of moving, Ryou gave a little sigh and obnoxiously cleared his throat. "They said he needs rest." He said bluntly. Getting absolutely no response, he cocked an eyebrow. "He's not going to sleep better with you hanging over him, you know. It's not like he's comatose and you're here for support, Strawberry. You're just an inconvienience."

Ichigo's eyes snapped open angrily. "He's my boyfriend and he was just captured and poisoned by an alien and I want to spend time with him!" Her voice was a strange mix between a yell and a whisper. She wanted to make Ryou feel shorted without disturbing Masaya. "You're so insensitive, Shirogane!" She added in a huff, turning away with her arms haughtily over her chest.

There was silence. Then, just when Ichigo thought she'd won and shut him up, she felt a hand grab her by the arm. "Come on," Ryou said boredly, attempting to drag her to her feet, "I'll walk you home."

"What? _No_! I told you, I -" Ichigo tried to break away, but the boy was much stronger than her and succeeded in pulling her up, even lugging her towards the door. All other hope lost, she began to flail. "_Stop it! _Help! I'm being kidnapped! Kidnapper! _Rape!_"

Her cries went unnoticed - maybe because Ryou was quick enough to get her out of there - and within the next few moments, the blonde had Ichigo outside, who had resorted to trying to stand still behind. That didn't last much longer. Soon, she was walking alongside him, rather grudgingly, a pouty look on her face.

"There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" His voice was blank, but there was a bitter tone to it. "Now he'll be able to get some sleep."

"It _was _hard, thankyouverymuch," She grumbled, refusing to make eye contact, "I don't appreciate being _dragged_ out of a hospital, Shirogane. Besides, since when do _you _care about Aoyama-kun?"

There was only silence in response to that. Unsatisfied, Ichigo finally turned to him expectantly, not breaking the stare until he gave some kind of answer. "I don't," he finally said in a quiet voice. And then he gave her a strange look, one that she'd seen before but never really read into, and she hastily turned her head away. It was then she noticed Ryou had let go of her arm, and had his hands buried in the pockets of his jacket. She absently rubbed the place where his hand had been. He'd been holding on _really _tightly...

"Ichigo." The suddenness of his voice nearly made the girl jump, and she was about to retort something angrily, but he beat her to the chase. "There's... something you should know. The other girls, too, but I want you to hear it first. Something's been appearing on the radar maps lately, and - "

Ichigo instantly snapped to attention. "What? Are there more aliens?" She cringed. Ari and Hanajima were already such a handful, more than that, a serious _danger_. How many more were there? It was a frightening thought. Ichigo might have gone into panic-mode just then, had Ryou not been quick to explain.

"No. None have showed up on the radar," He was careful to leave out the_ 'yet'_. She didn't need to hear right now that it was still a heavy possibility. "Not aliens, but something else has. According to the data, and I've looked through it pretty closely, something has popped up that shouldn't have. I don't know how. I don't know how I missed it before. I-"

"Shirogane, get to the point. You're scaring me..."

Ryou paused. He hand a fist balled up and resting against his head, as if just rethinking the situation gave him severe headaches. "There's..." His trailing off nearly brought a look of anger to Ichigo's face, but he recovered quickly, "...a fifth new mew."

Ichigo stopped. Her face went completely blank. "What." The way she said it wasn't even a question - it was utter disbelief, a whisper, a '_you-can't-be-serious'_. Ryou had expected no less.

"I don't know much about this '_Fifth Member'_. I am absolutely sure I only injected the four others, but... it amounts to the same thing. I've even got a map traced out, of their whereabouts and travelling. Very broad, very nomadic, so it would be impossible to track a precise location. There's not a lot to do about this. I just thought you should know."

The blonde started to walk again, so Ichigo quickly followed, regardless of the confused, puzzled look on her face. They walked in quiet for quite some time. Ichigo kept opening her mouth - as if to say something, to ask some muddled question - but kept closing it again. There was nothing to ask. Ryou had made it clear - that was the situation, and he was about as clueless as she was. That was all there was to it. So she was quiet.

A few moments later, she could see her house just a few steps away. Sighing, in realization she was that much farther away from Masaya, she straightened up and tried to fix her hair in case her parents were up. Obviously, Ryou knew what was on her mind, and just threw a few words in, "He'll be okay, Ichigo. I think he'd rather know you'd be getting a good night's sleep than worrying too much about it. I know I would."

She stopped at her porchwalk, not really knowing what to say in response to that. He was probably right. Ryou just kept on walking without another word, and offered a little wave in her direction before disapearing down the street. For a moment, Ichigo just stared.

"You really are strange sometimes, Shirogane," She said to herself, and, shaking her head softly, turned to walk back into her house.

--

Kona had been the one to find them, Ichigo and Masaya. In fact, all the girls had been out looking on Ryou's orders. It was only after she'd gone to Inohara, and the school, and even numerous bus stops that the girl had actually discovered the alley where a tearful Ichigo sat, holding her companion tightly. Masaya had been sent to hospital immediately. And Kona was relieved when she recieved a phone call from Ichigo, confirming his health.

"He's fine. I'm fine." She sounded tired, but Kona listened intently over the line anyway. "Just... tired. Oh, sorry, that was rude."

"Not at all," Kona replied, propping a pillow up against her head, "You're right, though. You should probably get some rest, Ichigo."

"...Yeah. Is it alright if I talk to you tommorow?... I'm kind of wiped right now."

"Yeah. See you at the Cafe."

"Bye."

After that, Kona spent a lot of time to herself, just thinking. She hadn't been in much of a good mood all day. Not only had she gotten into a fight with Ryou that time in the lab, when they first looked for Masaya, but Kikyo had later confronted her about it. And it hadn't been pretty.

_"You need to keep your personal feelings to yourself,"_ She had said blandly, and with a shrug turned away. _"Don't let it interfere with our mission, Kona. I know you're better than that."_

The regular stresses of regular life were even so... _regular_. Schoolwork was hardly important to her anymore - her teachers were often talking to her about how her grades were suddenly on the decline. She kept at it, for the sake of not having to schedule a meeting with the school psychologist, but her interest faded quickly. Her friends from school were concerned about her now too. She spent so much time to herself. Kona hardly noticed, and was shocked to hear things like this; after being pulled into the whole Mew thing, she was so used to being surrounded by people and problems that she just needed some time to herself. And, apparently, this was very abnormal for her.

Sighing, she pulled on her pyjama shirt and lazily flopped onto her cushy bed, pulling the covers up to her chin and laying sprawled out in thought. This was her new life. She could deal with that, couldn't she? But what if -... Kona closed her eyes and turned the light off_. What if it all goes away? Then what? Then what do I have?_

Almost as an afterthought, she gave a little grumble, and buried her face into the pillow. This wasn't regular, everyday school girl stress. She was starting to wonder if that was what she missed. But then again...

"I'll have to apologize to Ryou tommorow," She noted as a whisper to herself before falling asleep.

--

"_Grounded_?"

Sakura scowled, her arms folded over her chest, a slipper clad foot giving a little tap on the ground. "Ichigo sweetie... We're _so_ disappointed in you! Sneaking out like that, when you're sick. Shintaro walked right in to serve you some soup, even, and you weren't there! We're going to be keeping a close eye on you from now on!"

"But _okaa-san_..." Ichigo whined. It was no use. When her mother was set on something like this... well, it was impossible to change her mind.

"As a consequence for your behaviour, you'll stay up here and do homework for all of Sunday. We've been contacted about your grades, Ichigo. It's alright that you're not above average, but we're concerned that you're not concentrating enough and you'll fail before you even get to High School! Buckle down, _missie_, you'll be here for a long time."

"I have a shift at the Cafe!" She wailed, obviously very upset about this development. Ichigo had been sloppy about the whole thing. How could she forget she'd snuck out, only to walk in on two very angry parents? "They _need _me, okaa-san!"

"Well, call them and tell them you have a family emergancy."

"My boss is really mean and he'll probably cut my pay or fire me!" That was a little extreme, even for Ryou. But Ichigo _really_ didn't want to spend the whole day alone and studying as punishment for her lacking ninja-sneaky-spy skills.

"Well, then _I'll_ have a chat with the young man," Sakura said, giving a firm nod. Ichigo slumped. She'd lost. "Now you get to work. Maybe if you finish early, you can have ice cream for dessert!"

Leaving that on a happy note, as if Ichigo were some 5 year old who always bent towards ice cream and cakes, Sakura shut the door behind her. Ichigo could hear her footsteps thudding down the stairs. Giving a whiney groan, she threw herself onto the bed, staring up at the clock.

Grounded. On a Sunday. With nothing but textbooks and study sheets to occupy her mind. Ichigo sighed into her pillow. _Of all the times I had to choose to get grounded. And just when everything was getting interesting!_

She groaned into her pillow. "How lame."

Why did it seem like only bad things were happening to her lately?

--

Kona left her house slightly after noon. It had been a slightly offish day, but no more off than the others. She breathed a little sigh, and began to walk down the main street sidewalk towards the Cafe. Normal girls wouldn't be able to handle this kind of thing, this kind of stress. Kona knew by now she wasn't_ normal_. Just like the others.

What she couldn't decide was whether it was a good thing or not.

Shaking her head, she shifted the bag on her shoulders and continued her trek. On the way, she spotted a little black cat trotting along the sidewalk. Its eyes appeared a yellowish gold, and there was no collar around its neck. The kitten's fur was mussed, very untidy, which lead her to believe it was a stray. Or, at least, a creature without a home.

"Hello," She said blandly, pausing in her footsteps. The cat stopped and looked up at her, curiosity in its glowing eyes. She tilted her head, and then leaned over a little bit, trying to level her face with that of the cat. "You don't look too well. Or are you just tough against the elements? A city-cat?"

In response, its ear gave a twitch, and Kona swore she could see amusement glinting in the animal's eyes. She realized how odd it must have looked. She realized how odd her _life_ was, so it was any consolation. _Why am I talking to a cat again?_

"Come here," She outstretched her arms, beckoning it to come forward. The cat hesitated. She wasn't sure why she had decided to stop in the first place - Kona had seen plenty of cats wandering around. Maybe it was because she felt something about this strange cat. Maybe they were both misfits in a world they were meant to belong in.

As if coming upon a decision, the critter lightly padded forward, and the girl scooped it up in her arms, scratching it lightly behind the ears. A low, contented purring noise came from it. She smiled. "Hmn. You're a nice little thing, aren't you?" She heard some other sound, but couldn't decipher it. Probably just traffic or something, mixed with the voices.

"Who wouldn't want to give you a home..." Sighing to herself, she nestled her chin lightly in the cat's fur, and it put up no objections. The little ball of warmth was comforting, and she felt oddly safe. Kona began walking again, muttering to herself. And the cat. "You seem alright, though. I don't think you could stay at my house anyways. My sister's allergic. Maybe the cafe..." Her voice paused, "No, that wouldn't work either. Ryou's very angry with me, I think. I guess I shouldn't have yelled at him like that... It's just-"

_"You're not so happy he'll never have eyes for you."_

She halted. For a minute, Kona was silent, and then she looked at the cat with wide eyes. "Did you - " She shut her mouth. No. That wasn't the voice of a cat. Kona didn't know how, but she just knew what a cat would sound like if it spoke. No, this voice was familiar.

"What do you want, Hanajima?" She demanded to the air, clutching the cat defensively to her chest. It gave a slight mew in protest.

There was a light chuckle, and then a Kazuhawa-disguised Hanajima appeared before her, a mock grin on her lips. "Aren't you clever," She said with mirth. Kona scowled.

"Get. To. The. Point." She lowered her eyes angrily. "I don't have time to get involved in your mind tricks. Just leave us be."

"It's true though, isn't it?"

Kona just raised an eyebrow. Hanajima laughed.

"That boy... he'll never _know _how much you care for him. And he never will, as long as Ichigo Momomiya is in the picture."

"I don't know what you're talking about," She snapped, but she felt her eyes grow wide_. How does she...?_

"You know _exactly_ what I mean," The woman's tone was cool, with an edge of ice to it. She meant business. Her dark eyes flickered slightly and she dared to take a step forward towards the younger girl, hands in her pockets. "And shouldn't he? _Shirogane Ryou_? That girl doesn't care for him any more than a friend, but _he's_ a different story, isn't he? And even though you're right there, willing to offer your heart, he can't peel his eyes away from that neko for a second." She grinned slyly. "He won't be able to see anymore, of course, if she isn't there. If she's gone, his sights will set again upon someone for healing... someone like - "

"Stop it!" Kona yelled, and after hearing the cat in her arms mew in discomfort, she stepped back and set it gently down. Instead of running away, it simply slunk behind her legs, as if to hide. Anger swelling across her face, Kona faced the alien, her fists clenched angrily. "You're trying to suggest that I exploit Ichigo? My comrade? My _friend?"_

"Perhaps," With a gentle swish of her fingers, Hanajima pulled the glasses off her face, examining them carefully through half lidded eyes. Her lips were still curled in amusement. "Is she worth it, though? I can see your heart is already breaking. And you know just as well as anyone, if his eyes were open to anyone but that red-haired twit, he'd have to at least consider falling for you... _You know_."

Something in her head agreed, and that made her all the more angry. _I would never. I would never!_"You're just sour. I bet love has slipped through your fingers - though I can't imagine anyone loving you, a dark and cold soul!" Kona spat, and thrust her hand in her jacket pocket. Hanajima looked stunned, as if the comment stung, but it seemed to melt away within seconds. That was all Kona needed.

"Mew Mew Powder! Metamorpha-_sis!"_

Engulfed in a bright light, Kona felt her feline powers come to rise as she transformed. She wouldn't stand idly by as Hanajima tried to pull her into something.

"I will _not _sink to your level," She growled as the light faded, striking a battle stance, her Blossom Bell Bell in hand. Kona's black cat tail swished slightly in the air, the bell ringing lightly from the movement, her icy blue eyes narrowing as she held glares with the alien across from her.

"I would _never _betray a friend."

--

"Ara! Coming _up! _Chachacha!" Yumi chanted happily as she darted through the cafe, sliding trays show-offishly onto tables and entertaining _(or annoying_) customers by demonstrating just how fast she could run and avoid tables. Shaking her head in the distance, Roxi sighed, but smiled even so; her friend was always so full of energy. She held her position at the door, where she would greet and seat any customers. It was a busy day, not as busy as most, but still busy. Still a handful. The brunette glanced to the side. Kikyo was in the kitchen helping Keiichiro with some cakes; Yumi and her were handling it fine out here. Ichigo had called earlier, and had sounded absolutely miserable when she explained she was grounded and couldn't come to work. So she knew that was why she wasn't there. But Kona...

Where _was _Kona?

"Super-Chef-Keiichiro's choice is delicious, you know," By this point, Yumi was tending to another customer, a serious look on her face as she flipped out a notepad. The young man at the table smiled; he had black hair, and soft blue eyes, wearing fairly casual attire consisting of a t-shirt and jeans. Yumi seemed especially delighted by the gold bands he wore on his wrists, but he spoke before she got the chance to obsess over them.

"That sounds delicious. By the way, is Ryou around?"

Yumi stared at him and then blinked. It seemed to take a minute. "Ara... Oh!" Her eyes lit up. "You mean Shirogane-Boss-san? Yes. Well. _No_. Hm," She looked very thoughtful, tapping a pen against her chin. "Shirogane-Boss-san _is _here, but he hasn't been out at all today. He's not even in his lab. Just upstairs. I don't think he wants to see anyone, though..."

The boy frowned slightly, but nodded. "Alright." He cheered up noticeably then, if only for the sake of Yumi, "I'm here every day, so I'll just have to catch him some other time."

"Okay!" Yumi chimed happily, and scribbled down his order before dashing off to the kitchen. Roxi, seeing no one else coming in the doors, went to clear tables 3 and 11. That was usually Kona's job on a Sunday. At that thought, she glanced with concern out the door again, but moved on. There was work to be done, after all.

It was fairly quiet in the cafe room for the next few minutes. The dark haired boy, while waiting for Yumi to return with his dessert order, sat fairly casually and comfortably in his seat, gazing absently out one of the windows. He seemed quite content and relaxed. However, a few moments later, a strange look crossed his face, and he sat upright, his body appearing to tense. Almost immediately he pulled his jacket back on, tugging the sleeves protectively over his wrists before standing to his feet and stepping away from the table.

"Excuse me," Roxi turned around with an armful of dishes, faced with a concerned but kind looking customer, "I need to leave now, something came up. Would you mind telling your friend she could have my order instead? And that I'm very sorry I had to leave like this. I left payment on the table."

"Ah?" Roxi blinked, but nodded. "Yeah, that should be fine. Are you sure you don't want to wait, though? Yumi should be back in a few min-"

He was gone, just like that. The door swung lightly closed, and Roxi looked only slightly offended. Shaking it off, she started towards the kitchen, and then stopped. She looked back at the door, her eyes narrowed.

"His voice sounded... kinda familiar..." She murmured to herself before hurrying back to the kitchen for the dishes and Yumi.

--

"You're so soft. You'll bruise too easy," Hanajima chuckled, and held her arm out before her, as if accepting a challenge. As her Illusion Staff began to materialize, her faux disguise seemed to melt away, leaving her the pointy-eared alien clad in a battle outfit, her dark brown hair spilling over her bare shoulders.

"Is this supposed to be another distraction?" Kona snapped. She wasn't ready to attack yet, but held her Bell out defensively in case Hanajima tried anything. "I guess that's all you're good for, Hanajima. _Sidekick work_."

Hanajima sniggered. "Is that suppose to be an insult?" Her lips twisted into a wry smile and she floated into the air, staff outheld, ribbons loose from her clothing flitting darkly around her. "I suppose being a background character for someone who takes another's love for granted is so much better?"

"_Shut up_!" Cried Kona in anger. She'd had enough. Springing off her feet, the girl twisted strategically to the side and swung her bell out at Hanajima. "Ribbon Blossom _Shine_!"

She was clever, but Illusions were even _more_ clever. It had happened before, as it happened now; Hanajima re-positioned herself so the bright-lighted attack hit only a mirage of her form, and not her form herself. The real alien laughed from behind.

"Don't like hearing the truth? It_ hurts_, Kona!" Putting some oomph in her words for emphasis, she swung her staff around like a bat, aimed for Kona's head. Giving a split-second shriek, Kona was able to duck beneath it, feeling the air rush over her head. Her heart weakly skipped a beat. She charged forward, trying to tackle Hanajima over, but only succeeded in running into a corner that had been hidden by her magic. Gasping in pain, she crumpled to her knees, clutching her gut. It wasn't cut, but very heavily bruised from the blow.

"Then again, it is possible to disguise the truth," Hanajima mused to herself, standing behind the fallen Kona. The cat girl could barely move, let alone react. She smirked. "Is that what you've been doing? Hiding, all along, even though you know it's true? That Shirogane Ryou will _never _see you as anything more than an employee, a servant?"

"I thought I told you," Once her breath seemed to return to her, Kona was able to turn around slightly on the ground to level a glare with Hanajima, "to _shut up_. You don't know what you're talking about!"

_"Kona_!" A familiar voice called, and the girl spun around with wide eyes. Ryou stood there, his blonde haired mussed as he ran towards her at full speed.

"R-Ryou!" She called, immediately jumping to her feet as he approached. "What are you doing here?" She inquired hastily with wide eyes once he'd come over.

"Kona..." He breathed, trying to catch his breath. His blue eyes softened in concern. "You're hurt... what happened?"

"_Aliens_... Ryou, why are you...here..." Her legs suddenly gave out on her as she fell to the ground with a thud, trying to stop shaking. Running into a wall really took something out of a person... Although he reacted too slowly to catch her, Ryou dropped to his knees, and he felt a hand rest on her arm.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a panic.

"I'm... I'm fine," She said unsurely, her eyes averted. They were so close...

For a moment, he just stared at her, and his grip relaxed slightly. "I was worried about you," Ryou said in a soft tone, moving to help her back up to her feet. Kona felt her heart pounding - but it was nothing, right? Just like they'd all said... _nothing but an employee..._

"And..." She felt his hands rest gently on her shoulders, and she looked up at him, puzzled. His blue eyes were focused so clearly on her, his expression soft and serious...

"I love you."

Kona's eyes widened in shock, and she felt her entire body go numb. _What did he just_ - Before her thought could even complete itself, she felt a brutal strike to her back. Crying out in searing pain, she fell forward, trying to catch herself on Ryou only to fall right through his image. An illusion. _No._

Her body collided with the ground hard and fast, and she may have even skidded a fair distance from the impact. She groaned, and felt her face still burning from the experience. But it had been fake. An illusion. _All fake_.

"_I_ don't know what I'm talking about, huh?" Limp on the ground, Kona could see Hanajima triumphantly walking over to her, staff in hand calmly. She smiled. "Oh, but I think I_ do." _Carelessly, she nudged her foot into Kona's side, sending pain riddling through the girl's body once more.

Hanajima looked down at the girl seriously. "A weak heart makes for a weak mind," She shook her head in disapointment, as if this were some major fault. Kona could only stare. She'd lost any ability to move. _Weak heart...? Is that really... really me?_

She deserved it, then. "You wouldn't last a second on your own," Hanajima spat, her eyes now angry, bitter, "You have _no will _aside from that of your heart. And see where that's gotten you? Into an obvious trap... _tsk_."

Flicking her wrist, she lifted her staff up into the air, conjuring some mess of the mind all on her own. And Kona was helpless to do anything. Her physical state was just as lacking as her emotional state at that moment - she was totally vulnerable to instability in every shape and form. And not able to do a thing back.

_This is the end..._

All of a sudden, there was a hiss. Before Hanajima could react, something impacted with the back of her head, letting her Illusion Staff clatter to the ground. The alien let out a cry and stumbled forward, swinging her shoulders violently to the side, catapaulting the offending black cat to the ground. With a yowl of anger, it landed softly to the cement and bounded off, leaving a scowling alien behind.

"Damn thing..." She hissed, rubbing her shoulder in pain. But before she could turn her attention back to Kona, there was another interruption.

"_Alien_." Her hand twitching, Hanajima whirled around at the sound of another voice. Kona could barely move her head, but made out a figure dressed all in white approaching, a sword hanging at his side, raven black hair cropped around his face. _That boy... _She'd seen him once before, hadn't she? When Hanajima and Ari had cornered all the Mews but Ichigo, pulled them into battle, and when the cat girl had finally arrived, he'd been with her... "You will step away from the girl. _Now_."

_The swordsman..._

"You're...!" Grimacing heavily, the alien gritted her teeth and appeared to retreat. Instead, though, she waved her staff into the air in one swift movement, sending a flash of light through the area, duplications of her form appearing in a wide circle all around.

He seemed unfazed. Simply stepping over so his form blocked and protected Kona, the Elemental Swordsman reached over and pulled two swords from their sheaths. Kona watched, wide-eyed, from where she was, the wavering of white fabric blocking most of her view. But she could almost feel Hanajima's panic and unsureness. It was a smug feeling, knowing her enemy was about to fall, especially after all she'd put her through...

_I'm not that weak_, Kona thought hazily, letting her head rest against the cold pavement. Her attention was too sharp, too focused, so she knew she wouldn't fall asleep or be knocked out in her state. She was just... tired. _I'm not that weak... I can't be..._

"Get out of my way, _boy," _The alien snarled, all her forms echoing the words to form a blended and creepy sound, "You wouldn't like what I could do to you."

He said nothing, only stood his ground, keeping a firm glare on the enemies surrounding him. He held his arms and swords outwards, a stance ready for battle. "_Honoo Kousa_!" In one swift movement, the dark haired boy drew the blades together in the form of a cross, flame engulfing them both. All the Hanajimas visibly winced - not only had he not backed down, but was ready and eager to attack them.

They grimaced. "I warned you," They suddenly began to swarm all around him, chanting, echoing voices. At first, he seemed completely unaffected; he ran into to the fray without batting an eye, striking at all the fake Hanajimas and making them disapear. She was able to create more and more with only flicks of her staff, and they surrounded him, moving swiftly, coming in close and then moving far away in an effort to confuse him. He kept attacking, trying to find the real alien with no luck. It wasn't long before he'd used up a good amount of energy, and when he tried stepping back out of the confusion, all the forms evaporated into one. Hanajima took control of the moment, knocking him hard in the side with her staff. The swordsman stumbled, clutching his side wound tightly. Some blood from the blow surfaced through the heavy white fabric.

"Don't meddle in things you can avoid,_ little boy_," She glowered, and took a swift step over. His injury prevented him from moving too fast, so he suffered another blow to the side, this one knocking him over and against another hidden wall. One of his swords clattered to the ground, the flame extinguishing. Hanajima stepped slowly towards him, taking her time, blue eyes narrowed in menace. "It's too late now. You can't avoid something that has complete control..."

Kona was helpless to do anything. Her breathing quickened as she watched. _Don't hurt him_. Her jaw tensed. _Don't hurt him!_ Hanajima began to raise her staff, slowly, tauntingly. She wanted him to suffer. Kona squeezed her eyes shut.

_Don't hurt him!_

_"RIBBON_!" Kona's eyes fluttered open, and Hanajima and the Swordsman's heads jerked around in shock. A streak of black came soaring through the air, and before they could even make out the figure, "Mitsukai _Ken_!"

A searing black light burst from a streak of silver, and Hanajima could barely let out a cry as she was sent flying backwards, slammed up against another wall. There was another flurry of footsteps, and Kona only caught sight of a few feathers -_ black _feathers? - floating to the ground beside her. Then she felt a hand around her arm.

"Stand up," The swordsman said simply, his deep aqua eyes staring down at her. She hesitated. _Is this just another illusion? _She remembered seeing Ryou there, so realistically, and her body stiffened. But with a turn of her head, she could see a dark blur over where Hanajima had fallen. There was a fight going on. Hanajima was occupied.

Trusting her instincts at that moment, Kona grasped the swordsman's hand, pulling herself up to her feet. She winced. Her body was sore all over. When he let go, she felt no blows, no sudden attacks from a certain illusion-inducing alien. So she smiled. "Thank you," She said weakly, and turned to face the battle that had sparked on.

"Who are you,_ girl_?" Hanajima snapped, throwing her staff out to block a swing of a sword. Her grip shook. Kona could see some scratches up her arms from the earlier throw. Now she had a chance to view the figure that was calmly battling Hanajima away.

Different. That had to be the first thing that struck Kona's mind - she had never seen or met this girl. _Ever_. Her medium-length black hair was tied up in a ponytail, flitting about with her quick stepping movements; she was moving too fast for Kona to make out exactly what she was wearing, but it was all black.

When the alien's opponent gave no answer but silence, she was obviously irritated. "Can't you speak?" She yelled, and lunged her arm back in attempt to thrust it into the girl's gut. "Or are you just too almighty to spare a word?"

Instead of her stomach, the staff came into clashing contact with the flat edge of a sword, and was easily pushed away. Hanajima stumbled back and just barely brushed past a slice from the blade, which seemed to glow with an aura of power. Seeing just physical power was getting her nowhere, Hanajima dashed past the girl in a last effort, and waved her staff at the air, creating duplicates of herself again to surround the 'intruder'. And just like the Swordsman, the girl looked completely unaffected, and jumped in immediately.

There was one difference.

"Ribbon Mitsukai _Ken_!" She repeated in a loud tone, and the aura around her blade flared in sudden power. In one swing, she used that power to take out all the clones and leave Hanajima more wounded at the same time. Gasping for breath, the alien stared wide eyed at the girl, almost showing a glint of fear. She took a few steps back, but was interrupted.

"Don't move," Kona warned. Hanajima spun around. The Elemental Swordsman, Kona, and the girl with the sword stood around her, weapons outheld and ready to attack if she tried anything. The alien stood perfectly still. Then, with a curse under her breath, she disappeared into the air, leaving the three without a target to attack.

Sighing in relief, Kona pressed her gloved hand against her forehead to catch her breath. That had taken a lot out of her, even just witnessing the ending attack. When she was sure Hanajima was gone, she suddenly realized there was still a complete stranger in their midst. She quickly turned around to see the mysterious girl sheating her sword, turned away from them.

"Who...?" Kona suddenly seemed at a loss for words, her eyes falling over the girl's back. From it protruded one single, black feathered wing, and that seemed to whisk her own words away. _A wing...? _She hadn't noticed it before, though she supposed she mistook is as a part of her black outfit.

To her surprise, the girl stopped, and turned her head towards her. She had seemed so majestic, graceful, a silent fighter... but now as Kona looked at her, into her cold, hate-bearing eyes, she saw only ice among the blue depths. It sent a shiver down her spine.

"None of your business," She said coolly, simply, and for all Kona could comprehend her tone was too mature and cold for her words. Turning back away, the girl outstretched her one wing, continued to walk, and disapeared around a corner. Kona could only stare after her.

"How..." She twisted her mouth, trying to find the right word. "..._rude_." That didn't fit as a description at all, but it would have to do. She turned to face the swordsman, and was surprised to see he was sheathing his sword as well, prepared to leave.

"Oh, you're not going to disappear _too_, are you?" She shook her head and sighed. This really was too much mystery...

He turned to face her seriously. "I have to go now," He explained politely, bowing his head in the slightest, "There are matters to be attended too. I'll be seeing you soon though, I'm sure."

Kona brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Fine. Well, be off then," She shrugged dismissively, and he did as he was told, walking off into the distance until Kona couldn't see him anymore. Taking a moment to herself, she composed her stature, rested a little, and then detransformed. Now back in schoolgirl-Kona form, with a few extra battle scars, she headed back down the street to the cafe. It was dark. The cat that had been there had disappeared all too quietly in the chaos, she noticed...

--

"Kona!"

"Kona-chan, _where _have you been?" The instant she stepped in, a handful of uniform clad girls came rushing up. No Ichigo, she noticed with a bit of a tilted head. Before she could even ask, though, she was cut off by Yumi.

"Hua! You're all beaten up..." Yumi observed worriedly, lifting her arm and examining it. This sparked a sudden worry in Roxi and Kikyo.

"I'm fine... I just had a little run in with one of the aliens," She explained dismissively, trying to pull away. It was then she saw Ryou coming up the stairs, and she felt heat suddenly rush to her face at the sight.

_"I love you."_

She hurriedly turned away, trying to pretend she didn't notice him, and was more interested in her wounds_. What am I getting so flustered about? It was... it was just an illusion..._

"Kona?" She blinked rapidly and glanced at him, trying to keep from blushing as furiously as she had been. Ryou climbed over the last few steps, his expression slightly grim. "I'm glad you're here."

Her eyes widened and she felt her body stiffen. Her face was beet red and she knew it. "W..." Even her words wouldn't come out right_. What's wrong with me?_

"And now that you're all here," He added, putting a hand to his temple. He seemed completely oblivious to the stress Kona had suddenly put herself under, "Come down to the lab. Keiichiro will take care of the last of the customers. I - "

"Ichigo's not here," Kikyo pointed out to Ryou, even though her head was tilted at the still-blushing Kona with a cocked eyebrow.

Ryou shrugged. "I know. She already knows."

"Knows what?" Roxi inquired, tilting her head. The other girls seemed equally as curious, though only one kept staring at the floor like there was something terribly interesting about it.

He opened his mouth, paused, and then changed his mind. Turning around, Ryou started heading back down the stairs again, stopping to turn towards them.

"I have something to tell you all."

---

_Next Chapter:_

_A search begins. Now that everyone knows of the 'fifth Blend mew', they're determined to find - and recruit - her. Only, what if she doesn't want to be recruited? What if she sees the injection as a curse, and the other members as worsening her problem? But as Hanajima and Ari are gaining power, the girls need a new ally - fast. Time is ticking, and who knows how long it will be until they decide to pull another dangerous act._


	15. Fifth

**xuri:** xD I love how this is totally the fifteenth chapter, and it's called fifth, and the whole thing revolves around 'five'. x3 Totally unplanned, I assure you. But anyways. ;3 Yes, the chapters have slowed down a little. Things are hectic around here, and I'm trying to get started on planning for my next few fics. Blend will still be updated regularily, I promise. :D Just not necessarily every single day. Maybe every two, at the most. Thanks guys. x3

SamKo: Nooo, don't turn to the dark side! Remain faithful to IxR! xD Aw, but as fangirlish as I am to that couple, I do love writing about Kona and her tormented love. Bwahaha. x3 And, really, that's just the start of Ryou's harem. There are two more characters that hop on the Ryou fangirl bandwagon in later chapters. See if you can guess which ones. xD (Although, one of them hasn't been introduced yet... she's the LAST oc, I promise xD) I just had to do it. I mean, come on. Ryou's too much of a bishie _not _to have a horde of rabid fangirls. x3

---

**Blend (chapter fifteen)**

**..fifth..**

"...Five."

"Five."

"_Five_?" Roxi repeated in disbelief, her eyes wide. Kikyo's eye gave a noticeable twitch.

Ryou simply sighed. "Yes. Roxi. _Five_. There are four of you not including Ichigo, and there is one more out there. _Four_ plus_ one _equals _five_."

"Ara, wouldn't it be six including Ichigo?" Yumi pointed out, but Kona was quick to shove her aside. Luckily, Ryou didn't seem to notice. He had pulled up a projection screen, which portrayed a very rough satellite-style image map. The girls could see the outlines of streets, major establishments, and little blurbs next to certain sections. But the boy was pointing to a single dot, blipping along the street.

"That is her," He said bluntly, pointing again, "She's been moving very elusively. Whenever I watch her patterns, she never moves close to any buildings, and appears to simply wander from place to place randomly. It's impossible to track her, right now, as it isn't exactly a signal."

Already the group looked thoroughly confused. He ignored this. _Either they get it, or they don't. _Ryou continued, "And over here," He moved his hand to motion at a small cluster of faint dots, "are you four. And Ichigo, somewhere over at her house where she is right now."

Yumi tilted her head, trying to get a better view. Just as he said, there were four little dots all bunched together, representing her, Kona, Roxi and Kikyo. That was simple. She understood that. And suddenly, when he started talking, she was confused again.

"Earlier on, this dot - " He pointed at one, Kikyo suspected randomly, " - was in the vicinity of this dot." Ryou moved his hand back to the dot that was completely seperated from the roads and towns, the '_fifth member'_. "That means one of you came near this girl at some point. And if I observed correctly, it was _very _close."

By the way they all just stared, he figured they weren't understanding at all. Well, Kikyo looked like she did, but was holding it in just for amusement. Ryou felt a headache coming on_. How much simpler can I explain this?_

"Okay. Here's the history file," His fingers flew over the keyboard for a few seconds, bringing up another screen. It was the same map, but the dots all had scattered positions this time. Ryou pointed firmly. "_This_ is a scan of the map taken about 50 minutes ago. _This _dot is Ichigo," He motioned to the one that was stationary over a bunch of houses, "_This_ one is Yumi, _this _one is Kikyo and _this_ one is Roxi. They're all at the Cafe, right here."

Kona's eyes widened slightly. _Hold on... that means -_

"And this dot is the _'fifth member'_," Where he pointed, the girls could all see another dot. Ryou looked at them expectantly, his expression cool. He couldn't tell whether or not they understood. His finger trailed about an inch to the left. "And this dot is one of you. Yumi. Kikyo. Roxi. You were all here, working. Ichigo was at home._ Grounded_. So that leaves you, Kona."

Everyone turned to look at her, but Kona didn't notice. She'd gotten that a few minutes ahead of time. Now her brain was working, scanning over the events of the last hour. She must have passed her... she must have encountered her, somewhere...

Her blue eyes suddenly lit up in realization. Ryou raised an eyebrow at her quietly.

"Oh my God," She whispered, suddenly looking a little bit pale, "_She's_ the fifth?"

--

The phone rang. _Outside world! Contact with the outside world!_

Grumbling to herself, Ichigo peeled her body off the floor where she'd been laying all sprawled out and attempted to drag herself over to the phone that was ringing fiercely. She was still in her pyjamas. Her hair was a complete mess, and she looked like she'd been locked up somewhere for weeks. It had actually only been since 10 o'clock that morning, but her radio clock had been confiscated. Sakura said it was too entertaining for a grounded girl.

"If I don't hurry, Okaa-san will hear and take my phone away _too_!" Ichigo whispered, sparking a new determination in herself. Crawling across the bedsheets and mattress, and lunged her arm over to the nightstand, grabbed the phone and jerked it off the reciever. It kind of fell from her grip, so she scrambled forward to grab the phone, only to tumble back off her bed.

"...ello? Ichigo? _Hello_? Are you there?"

"I'm here! I'm here!" Ichigo assured hurriedly, and glanced up at her awkward position, wondering how long she could hold it before she crashed into her dresser. She blinked. "Yumi, is that you?"

"Yup! Kona and Roxi are out lookin' right now. Kikyo didn't really wanna call. So here I am!" Yumi really didn't call Ichigo... ever. Even about Cafe business. It was usually Kona and Roxi, and it was no surprise Kikyo was too busy or too wrapped up to phone.

"Oh..." Ichigo tried to shrug, but her shoulders were sort of jammed together. "Well, I guess - wait, looking for _what_?"

There was a giggle at the other end. "The_ fifth-but-really-sixth _Mew!"

"Huh?" Ichigo suddenly felt confused. Her head was fuzzy from all the sleep. _What else am I supposed to do?_

"Ara? Didn't Ryou tell you?"

Ichigo paused in thought. "Oh... yeah, he did... But I thought she couldn't be tracked down...?"

"Well, she can't, that's what Ryou said," Yumi said matter-of-factly, "But apparently Kona met her in the middle of a battle with Hanajima and knows who she is. So now they're out looking for her, and I'm here helping Kikyo and Keiichiro and Ryou do stuff to find where she is. We have walkie-talkies!"

"Huh." Ichigo felt a strand of red hair falling over her eyes in annoyance. _How come when I'm not there everything interesting has to happen? _There was a bit of a silence after that, so she figured Yumi was expecting some kind of reply. "That's... nice."

"I _know_!" Yumi practically squealed. Ichigo nearly dropped the phone. "Do you think she'll be pretty? I betcha she's fused with some super animal... liiike... a dolphin! That would be awesome! 'Cause none of us can swim. I think. Or fly. Oh, what if she's fused with a _flying _dolphin? We'd be like, _Super-Mew-Team_! Eheh!" Ichigo listened drowsily as Yumi rambled on about similar possibilities and theories - insects, fish, even to the point where she was guessing the girl was fused with trees. By the time she started talking about something sensical again, Ichigo realized she'd almost fallen asleep.

"Ara... We all miss you, Ichigo,"

"Yah," Ichigo stifled a yawn, "I miss you guys too. Even if it's only been a day."

"Mm-hm," Yumi suddenly sounded a little sad, "Kona seems really sad today, and sick too... her face keeps turning red... I wonder why?"

Ichigo interrupted her before she could start talking about theories again. "Er, yeah, Yumi. Tell everyone I'll be back at work as soon as possible, okay? And tell Shirogane not to dock my pay. _Or else. _Got it?"

"Got it!" Yumi chirped, and promptly hung up. The redhead sighed, and moved to do the same. However, she found, very simply, that she could not; her body was twisted in such a way that she was pressed between her mattress and the wall, a blanket tangled around her body. Ichigo blinked, and hesitated. "Um..." Slowly, carefully, she leaned over to the side, trying to set the phone on the reciever. Her grip slipped.

_Crash._

"_Why does this always happen to me_?"

--

"Hair colour," Kikyo said bluntly. She held a notepad in her hand as she was walking, writing down various things with a serious expression on her face.

"Black," Kona replied, watching the girl a bit uneasily. They hadn't actually had a conversation yet, and they'd been walking for about 15 minutes. Just inquiries about her appearence. "Or dark brown... No, I'm pretty sure it was black. Kind of long, high ponytail. I'm pretty sure."

She was given a skeptical glance for every '_pretty sure' _she sputtered out. Kona couldn't help it. Kikyo was pretty uptight, and it was contagious. Regardless, the fox-fused girl continued on, asking about 'eye colour, approximate height, mannerisms, distinguishing features' and so on. Kona answered as best she could, but she was mentally occupied at the moment.

_I still haven't gotten a chance to apologize to Ryou... He doesn't seem angry with me, but still, I owe it to him, don't I?_

"...that might help with finding her. Are you listening? Kona?" Kikyo suddenly raised her voice, and that was what broke Kona out of her thought. Looking a bit shaken, she stared at Kikyo with wide eyes. The girl just shrugged, flipping a sheet of her notepad. "You were daydreaming. I know you have a lot on your mind, but we've got a job to do."

"...Yeah," Kona breathed, looking at the ground, "I know."

There was a pause. "You didn't answer my question."

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't hear it."

An irritated sigh, "She was in her Mew form, right, in order to attack Hanajima? What kind of animal did she look to be fused with? It'll only help if she's transformed, which I doubt, but at least I'll know as well."

Kona nodded, and hesitated for a moment as she thought it over. To be honest, she hadn't really noticed anything; no ears, no tail, no paws, no - _Wait_. Closing her eyes for a second, she invoked a mental photograph of the mysterious girl she'd encountered just a few hours ago. What had it been that had seemed odd and unusual to her? She thought hard, trying to clear her image. What had she seen that wasn't human...?

"She had wings," Kona breathed, and then shook her head. "No. One _wing_. One black wing."

"Are you sure?" Kikyo cocked an eyebrow. It was obvious she didn't take Kona's observation that seriously, but she didn't say so. "You could have been looking from a funny angle, or from the side so it looked like - "

"_No." _That was said in a firm, strong voice that even surprised Kona. This was the one thing she was completely sure of. "I know there was only one; she had her back to me, fully to me, and there was only one feathered wing. _I'm sure_." She paused, "Are there any birds with one wing? Maybe it symbolizes an endangered species or something that are having their wings chopped off..."

"It doesn't matter." With a shrug, Kikyo folded the notepad back up and pocketed it without even writing that part down, "Chances are she's not transformed anyways. We'll just have to hope we can find her in human form."

Kona nodded. "Right." Her voice was confident.

But she knew it wasn't going to be easy at all.

--

"Shirogane-san?"

Ryou just squinted a little more at the screen. "What?"

Roxi winced. His voice was harsh, but that was to be expected, right? He'd been sitting there, for hours and hours, just staring and typing and trying to find information. No wonder he was irritated easily. "Uhm, Akasaka-senpai wanted to know if you wanted tea."

_"No."_

"...Are you sure?" She tried uneasily. Her eyes fell over the bottle set beside him. It had been empty for the past 4 hours, and he'd been refusing any refills on that, so now they were all trying to get something into him before he went into dehydration. "...Akasaka-senpai has some extra packets... Yumi-chan and I will be having some as well. It's just so none is wasted."

He was silent. Roxi bit her lip, and crossed her fingers behind her back. Sighing a little to himself, Ryou took his hand away from his head and started typing furiously again. "Fine. Just tell Keiichiro to put it in a mug." He then grumbled something about teacups, but Roxi didn't need to listen. She happily walked back up the stairs, where Yumi was testing to see how many chairs she could jump over before she fell.

"Akasaka-senpai!" Roxi called, and hurried into the kitchen. Yumi proceeded to drag another chair across the floor, propping it neatly infront of the two others she had already set up. Rubbing her hands together eagerly, the small girl did a quick stretch of her legs, backed up to the other end of the room, and got into a ready-to-run stance.

Just then, Roxi stepped out of the kitchen, a steaming mug of tea in her hands. She was humming cheerfully - Keiichiro promised to give her a free cake as reward for getting Ryou to accept some sort of food - and took no notice of Yumi at all. Either because she didn't notice, or it was just to be expected of the younger girl. And then, suddenly, there was a loud roar from down the stairs.

"_Dammit!"_ It came so suddenly and so loudly that Roxi's entire body tensed up and jumped, and the mug dropped right from her hands, shattering on the floor and splashing hot tea on her legs. Yumi successfully jumped over the third chair, but landed in the tea, causing her to slip, fall, and bump into the wall all within a few seconds.

"What's going on?" Keiichiro demanded, running out from the kitchen with a cooking apron still on. His look of annoyance changed to concern when he realized Ryou had been the one to yell. As if to answer all unspoken questions, he came running up the stairs, reaching the doorway panting, his eyes wide in panic.

"The aliens," He managed, grabbing his jacket and pulling it messily on, "They're transformed, they're on the radar, and they're heading right for Kikyo and Kona's location in both directions."

"What?" Roxi winced in pain and quickly stepped away from the tea. She'd clean it up later. Yumi whipped out a walkie-talkie, and immediately hit the contact button, a bit of joy shining in her eyes along with surprise.

"Bzzt! Kona! Kikyo! Can you hear us? Testing_ testing_!" Ryou managed to glare as he started for the door, Yumi just shrugged sheepishly, "Aliens are approaching! I repeat, aliens are approaching! Do you copy?"

Taking her hand off the button, they all waited, but all they got was a buzzing fuzz noise. Ryou cursed under his breath again, pushing the door open and facing the girls.

"Let's go."

--

"Huh?" Kona gave a little jolt as the walkie-talkie at her waist suddenly staticked to life. Kikyo rolled her eyes, but stopped walking, waiting as the girl fumbled with the device until she held it securely in her own hands. From there, they both seemed to expect something to be said, but all either could pick up was fuzz, and the occasional syllable.

"...ting...en...eat...en..."

Kikyo frowned. "What are they saying?"

Staring at it for a second more, as if waiting for something sensical to pop up, Kona shook her head in a puzzled fashion. "I... have no idea." She paused, and shook it to see if it did any good, along with batting it with the palm of her hand. She sighed, hooking it back to her belt. "The waves are too messed up. It sounds like Yumi though... She's probably just rambling about eating cakes or something."

For once, Kikyo nodded in agreement, and the two continued on. They hadn't encountered many crowds yet, save a group of junior high kids walking to the convenience store; and they were too young to even be close to Kona's description of the '_new mew girl_.' Other than that, it was turning out to be a fairly fruitless search. Not that they had expected to find the exact person right away, but hey, that would have been great, wouldn't it?

"Are we even going the right way?" Kona inquired quietly, looking around with her eyes narrowed, "I mean, there's no_ right _way, but there isn't even anyone around here... Wouldn't it be better if we just stuck to main streets?"

Kikyo just glanced in her direction, as if debating whether or not she should steer this escapade somewhere else, as Kona suggested. Before she could even answer, though, a spiral of blue flame suddenly erupted from the side.

"What _the_-?" Kikyo eyes struck wide and she instinctively jumped out of the way, narrowly missing a burning shot. That's not what Kona saw, however; her eyes played a horrible trick on her, and she instead saw the ponytailed girl engulfed in the flame.

"Kikyo!" She cried, and dashed forward to try and put it out, only to be hit with the remainder of the attack. The illusion shattered before her eyes, showing an irritated and alarmed Kikyo. The pain of the fire against her arm caught up with the girl, and she let out an ear-splitting cry.

"My, my," They both turned to see Hanajima positioned on one side of them, staff outstretched, and Ari on the other, a malicious grin on her face, "Don't you know? Kitty cats shouldn't wander around all alone."

"_You_ two," Kikyo seethed, her teeth gritted together, fists clenched. She was focusing her anger to hide the panic and fear on her face. Holding her hand out infront of her, a glint of gold could be seen. "Mew Mew Kitsune, Metamorph-- Huagh!"

A sharp blow to the leg interupted Kikyo and sent her reeling for the ground. She acted quickly enough to catch herself, but the realization dawned on her that her left leg was now useless. She could see Hanajima smirking out of the corner of her eye.

"Not going to get up?" Her voice was low, dark, "You're no more special than the rest of them. Without your powers, you're just an ordinary girl... an ordinary, _defenseless_ girl." The alien kneed her in the side, making her gag and fall completely to the pavement.

"Leave her alone, you coward! Mew Mew Powder, Metamorpha-_sis_!" The words left Kona's mouth before she could even think clearly, but there wasn't time for that. There were two blood-thirsty aliens against just the two of them, and her teammate was badly injured. Besides that, they were sneaky. There was no excuse for letting her guard down... maybe not even the chance to make an excuse.

Ari smirked, fire burning in her golden eyes. "Come and play, kitten!" She taunted, holding her dagger weapons outstretched.

"You asked for it," Kona retorted, and brought out her Blossom Bell Bell. Instead of attacking right away, she took a jump backwards, quickly observing her surroundings._I have to be careful about illusions. Hanajima knows how to use them, just how to make anyone think they're doing something that they're not.._

"Ribbon," Kona felt her energy gathering at her fingertips, as she kept a wary sideglance on Hanajima. Her staff was outheld, but the girl couldn't pick up what she was trying to alter. "Blossom--"

Ari appeared beside her just then, elbowing her in the ribs and taking a rather messy slash. Kona was able to fall down to the ground fast enough to avoid it, but she felt as if she'd just had the wind knocked out of her. "Are you ignoring poor old _me_, neko two?" Ari bent over, fully aware how incapable Kona would be of attacking for the next few seconds. She grinned. "I don't _like _to be ignored."

Before she could even react, she felt a hot blade slice shallowly through the skin of her arm, followed by a burning sensation spreading painfully through her body. Kona screamed, clutching the small cut of her arm - the bleeding wasn't a problem, but she felt as if the flame from Ari's dagger was now spreading through her blood. _It hurts... it hurts!_

There was a low rumble of laughter, and both girls could see, through their pain and struggle, that the aliens had stepped back, relaxed as if watching a production, a TV show. Kikyo felt hate burning in her veins, but she was helpless to move, and Kona could barely focus she was in so much pain.

"So," Ari remarked, twirling a dagger in her hand. She grinned. "What do you think, Hanajima? Are we in a good mood today?"

"A_ fabulous _mood," Kona could barely see them, but she shivered, hearing a hint of glee in Hanajima's dark and looming voice, "In fact, so fabulous, I think we should leave them here. Let them enjoy the aftermath of our attacks. Don't you agree?"

Ari laughed, nodding her head almost in a cheerful manner, her blue hair swaying in the light breeze. She smirked, propping her head up in her palm. "I do," Her voice was low, sly, and tormenting all at once. "Let's leave them, now. If they're so powerful... let's see them get out of this fanciful predicament."

Kikyo tried to growl, make some angry protest in response, but all that came out was a squeak. The pain in Kona had subsided, but it was still dull and spread all throughout her body - if she were to move, even just a bit, it would fire up again and send her writhing in burning agony. They both lay there helplessly, watching as the aliens walked away. They could have teleported, easily, but they wanted the girls to suffer, know they were being left behind to die...

"Stop right there!" Ari's face darkened, and Hanajima's remained neutral, but they both turned around. Kona and Kikyo looked up wearily. Standing there, banded all together and transformed, were Mew Framboise and Mew Cerise, Ryou standing off to the side, looking as if he'd run quite a bit.

"Oh?" Ari didn't look impressed. She levelled a glare with the boy, who simply grimaced back, and then turned to face the two girls. "Silly kittens... Have you come to lay by your friends? Here," She drew out a dagger, holding it at an angle ready for attack, "Let me help you."

"No thanks!" Yumi piped in response, holding her small bell, mocking Ari's position. The alien glowered. "We're more than happy standing, thanks though! Ribbon Raspberry _Dazzle_!" With a swing of her arm, little specks of light blasted toward the aliens. They jumped easily out of the way, but were now in someone else's range of attack.

"Ribbon Cherry _Burst_!" Roxi pointed her wand at Ari, who recieved a hit of colourful light. She yelped, stumbling back a little bit.

"Where's Ichigo-neko?" Ari inquired suddenly, her face laughing, "You don't really think you stand a chance without her, do you?"

"Sorry, she couldn't be here. We're here to fight on her behalf!" Chanted Yumi, leaning forward ready for another attack.

Ari shook her head, and stood perfectly still. That seemed to unnerve the girl, just enough. "Bad move!" She yelled, springing off her feet and dashing forward, her dagger-arm outstretched and ready to attack. Yumi yelped in surprise, but she was faster; ducking underneath it, she ran to the side and around Ari, darting completely past her.

"Catch me if you _caaaan_!" She called back, and then ran for dear life with the blue haired alien on her trail.

"I guess you're mine then," Roxi said coldly, turning to face Hanajima with her Cherry Wand outstretched. She narrowed her eyes. "I _won't_ forgive you... for hurting Ichigo-chan, and Kona-chan, and everyone else... Your actions are unforgiveable!" She quickly pressed her hand against the wand's golden ring, and jerked it, sending it into a frenzied spin. The girl grasped the handle tightly, focusing all of her energy and all of her attention on her alien target, ready to release a powerful attack. She blinked. The alien was gone.

Roxi's eyes widened in alarm, but before she could even move she was nudged roughly in the back, her arm twisted around into a painful armlock. She cried out, her wand clattering to the ground, leaving her weaponless.

"I don't _need _you to forgive me," Hanajima whispered cruelly into her ear. Roxi winced, unable to move, feeling her nails digging into her skin. "I'm fine just where I stand."

"Twit!" Yumi could hear shouted behind her as she jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a funnel of blue flame heading her way. Her horse ears gave a twitch - she could hear Ari approaching quickly behind her, with light and easy footsteps - so she knew she couldn't rely on speed alone. There had to be tactic. Yumi grinned. She was good at _that_.

Screeching to a sudden halt, she heard her pursuer give almost a squeak of surprise as she tried to do the same. Taking the moment to her advantage, she turned on her heel, sprinting off right past her to where the other girls still were. And then Yumi would turn again - hopefully, if she could keep the alien away from Hanajima and the others, she could tire her out and lead her right back to Kona and Kikyo and Roxi, who she could then band with to form a powerful attack against the aliens. She grinned giddily to herself. It was a good idea, if she did say so herself.

Besides that, Yumi had what seemed like an endless vault of energy. So she couldn't lose.

And meanwhile, Roxi was having struggles of her own. Hanajima kept her in a firm armlock, immobile, unable to fight back, and she actually seemed to be enjoying it. Roxi tried to squirm away, but it was no use, and she was beginning to feel panicked. Kona and Kikyo were still completely open to attack, vulnerable and weakened - besides that, Yumi was gone, and now she was being held back. She was more conerned for her friends than anything.

_What are we going to do?_

"It's _looking_ like a nightmare, isn't it?" Hanajima whispered, and the girl could feel the tip of her cold, hard weapon being pressed to the side of her head. Roxi flinched. It didn't hurt, but... It made her head feel all fuzzy. "I can fix that for you. I can _make _this the worst nightmare you've ever had..." The alien's hand clenched around the weapon.

For a moment, there was complete silence and stillness. Then Roxi's eyes went stricken wide, her face paling in pain and terror as images began flooding into her mind. Blood, all around, every one of her friends sprawled in the mess, their eyes lifeless, surrounded in pools of their own red. They came, one after another, clearer and clearer each time, and they made her stomach churn and tears form in her eyes. _Why won't they stop? I don't... I don't want to see this anymore! Make it stop!_

"Stop! _Stop_!" Roxi whimpered, but was helpless as Hanajima kept forcing illusions of horrors into the girls own mind.

Just as Yumi rounded another corner, shouting a playful torment back at Ari, she heard Roxi's cry from a distance. The hairs on her neck stood up _- is she alright?._ Deciding she'd had enough of this game - Ari seemed tired enough anyways- Yumi sharply turned around and sped back down the path to where Roxi and the others were, leaning forward into the wind and running as fast as she could at that moment.

"Roxi!" Her small voice rang out as she approached, her eyes widening at seeing her friend captive with a look on her face that made her believe she was being beaten, even if there weren't any scars on her body. "_Roxi_!"

Her panda-fused friend seemed completely out of it at that moment, staring at the ground with wide eyes, glazed over, tears streaking down her face and her jaw clenched tightly. Yumi kept calling out to her as she approached, and was about to jolt forward and attack Hanajima when a hot burst of flame hit her in the back.

"_Uwaaah_!" Yumi screamed and crumpled to the ground. The flame was already out, but the pain didn't dull at all. Before she could do anything at all, the horse-girl saw a shadow appear over her, golden eyes glinting.

"You little brat," Ari hissed, stabbing her heel into the girl's chest. Yumi gagged. "Playing me like a fool... You're even more annoying than Ichigo-neko!" She seethed, but Yumi took some pain-filtered comfort in the fact that the alien was panting. _So I managed to tire her out, at least. _"You're just getting in the way_, girl. _It's better for everyone if I take you from the picture!" her voice escalated as she grabbed her double-sais, removed her foot, and dove in for a hit. Yumi, even in the pain she was, was quick; she rolled just out of the way, just narrowly missing the fury of both daggers.

Angrily, the alien jerked them both from the ground and looked ready to charge the small girl, but froze. A tall figure had positioned itself directly infront of her, standing between her and the Yumi girl. "Get out of my way!" Ari hollered in a blind rage, and thrust her bronze blades at the intruder. Her attack was met and passed off by a clash of metal, causing her to stumble back. Still not willing to give in, she charged at her, attempting various slashes, all of which were easily blocked by sword, deflected back to the furious alien. Panting again, for her earlier loss of stamina, Ari clenched her weapons and glared at the newcomer.

The stranger stepped from the shadows into the light, revealing an amazed Yumi looking after her, trying to dull her injuries at the same time. Holding a gleaming sword out, the figure stood tall, a glazed and determined look levelled directly at Ari.

The alien hesitated, and then her look of anger was replaced. Her lips twitched into an angry smirk. "It's _you _again, huh? Why do you fight for these undeserving twits? You..." Her smile faded, her eyes growing wide and her jaw tensing. Her voice suddenly went low, and she held her weapons out in defense. "...You're one of _them_, aren't you?"

Everything seemed to click, just then. Kikyo sat upright, her eyes wide. Yumi gave a little gasp. Roxi's illusion was suddenly shattered, and she stared at the other alien in disbelief and realization.

And Kona weakly smiled.

"It's her."

And yet, nearly at the same time, the one-winged girl unflinchingly held her sword out, "I belong to_ no one_," She hissed, her eyes gleaming with disgust.

"You don't _really_ think you can take me on all on your own, then?" Ari cried out, bounding forward and taking a violent slash with one dagger. The girl ducked under effortlessly, but the alien wasn't finished; she brought her other arm up, tearing a large gash in the others arm. The winged girl didn't even blink, simply brought her sword over and pushed Ari back from making any further attacks.

"Yes," she said icily, pointing her sword right at Ari with a blank expression. She narrowed her eyes. "I_ do_."

"You arrogant _brat_!" Summoning the blue flame back to her weapons, Ari looked ready to dig them right into the nameless girl's skin. She, on the other hand, coolly held her ground, keeping her weapon firmly pointed and held.

"Ribbon Mitsukai _Ken_!" Her voice rang out, and the entire sword seemed to be swallowed by a shadow of sorts. It reflected fright even in Ari's eyes. Within less than a second, the winged girl took a mere step forward, swinging at the alien opponent. She missed. Intentionally, the girls would have said, the way she angle her arms so the tip of the blade swept right past. It seemed, anyways. A moment passed, and then a deep cut split open, blood seeping from the opening.

"_Nng_!" Ari's entire body gave a heave as she clutched at her arm, shadowing her face to hide her obvious pain. The girl now stood at the other side, calmly, facing the alien, the wind billowing all around her, sending a flurry of black feathers through the air. There came a hissing noise from the blue haired alien as she tilted her head to send a malicious glare in her direction. She seemed completely unaffected, and simply sheathed her sword to symbolize the battle being over. Ari gritted her teeth.

"..._Mistake_," She growled in a low voice, and in a flash of blue disapeared into the air. For a moment, the girl did nothing to move. Then, in one swift step, she was directly infront of Roxi and Hanajima, her cold and hardened gaze falling over the taller alien, who had been watching the short battle in awe and fear.

"Leave," The girl said shortly, showing no change of emotion or expression. Hanajima didn't move. The winged's hand flashed for the handle of her sword, and that seemed to prompt the alien to let go of the panda girl and back away. Roxi stumbled out of her grasp in a hurry, rushing over to where Kona and the others were in case the Illusions alien tried to pull anything.

Hanajima and the girl held stares for quite a long time, but it was obvious the former was not considering an attack. "You'd be wise to choose your alliances more_ carefully_, girl," she then said darkly, before taking a step back and fading into the shadows as well.

All was silent. No one was sure what to say. Now that the aliens were gone, there should have been a lift on the tension in the air - but there wasn't. The breeze had softened slightly, the array of feathers still drifting to the ground. The girl wasn't facing the _'mew team'_, simply staring at the roadside, her eyes glazed in what seemed to be thought. Then, she began walking away.

It was Yumi, to no one's surprise, who spoke up first.

"Ara? Where are you going?" she piped, managing to climb to her feet and keeping wary of her wounds. Yumi cocked her head. "Aren't you going to stay with us? We know who you are now. You're one of us, right?" She smiled boldly, stepping forward, "We can all be a team now. We found you. You - "

"Didn't I say," the girl rudely interupted Yumi without so much as turning her head, though she did pause in her footsteps, "I belong to no one?"

Yumi's eyes widened and she froze, staring silently. There was nothing else, so the girl continued to walk until she disapeared from sight, leaving the rest of the girls bewildered and dumbstruck.

"She's..." Kikyo, clenching her jaw, managed to sit up, trying to ignore the fierce pain in her leg, "...She's just stuck up. We don't need her."

"Yeah, but..." Roxi looked a bit dazed as she stepped over to where a crestfallen Yumi stood, twisting strands of brown hair around her fingers, "...She _is _one of us, isn't she, no matter what she says? ... I don't think we have a choice... We'd be even more powerful _with_ her..."

Ryou had been safely observing the fight, and was a little blown away at the girl's reaction as well. The others had just so willingly banded together, he'd never thought there would be this kind of struggle. It was inevitable, though, wasn't it? He sighed a bit to himself as he approached the girls. This was just like Zakuro, just like how she refused, but eventually came around. Kikyo, as well. But this girl... she seemed so strongwilled, so deadset on her decision.

_It's going to be a tough one, that's for sure..._

"Let's head back to the cafe," He said softly, drawing all the girls' attention to him. The boy shook his head. "Keiichiro's probably worried about all of you, anyways, and we can't just leave you lying around here wounded. I think we have enough medical supplies to fix you all up. Roxi," Putting on a commanding voice, Ryou turned to face the panda-eared girl, who stood up straight, "Are you able to carry Kikyo back? It'll be a little ways, but Yumi should be able to help you."

"O-okay," Roxi nodded slowly, and looked over at Kikyo nervously. The fox girl looked relaxed, though - she was stubborn, but not stupid. It was impossible to walk with her leg, so she allowed Roxi and Yumi to help her to her feet.

"O-oi," Kona mumbled, trying to move and get up. Her ribs hurt, and her side ached horribly - she was about to remind them that they'd forgotten _her, _only to suddenly see a shadow covering her.

"Careful," Ryou advised softly, and in a smooth and gentle movement picked the girl up from the ground and used both arms to support her as he began walking with the others. Kona just stared, and then suddenly became flustered, feeling her head resting softly against his chest and her cheeks burning red. The group started heading along a concealed area of the street, back to the cafe. There were so many things they needed to figure out, problems that needed to be solved...

--

Ichigo sat at her window, staring out of it contemptiously and tapping his fingers impatiently on the sil. It was annoying quiet in her room - she hadn't heard a single thing from Yumi or Roxi or _anybody_, for that matter. _Too quiet._

"Uwaaaahh...! I just _know _they're all doing something exciting while I'm stuck here!_ Life hates me_!" Ichigo groaned, thunking her head against the glass.

--

_Next Chapter:_

_The one-winged mew is still on the girls' 'To Pursue' list. With Ichigo back, maybe they stand more of a chance to win her over - or, maybe not? She fights their enemies, but refuses to side with them or acknowledge the similarities they share. Is having a part-time ally enough? Or will they need her full support to keep the aliens at bay?_


	16. Mission: Catch and Recruit

**xuri:** Omg, Chapter Sixteen. You all know what this means, riiiighht? ;3 -_waits for audience response_- That's right kids! Ten chapters to go! xD And on a side note, this fic is now sitting at above 100,000 words. I can see the eyes bleeding from where I'm sitting, seriously. x3 Have I said I'm sorry?

Cause, I'm really sorry. But, moving on.

_SamKo: Well, it's always good to know I can keep the readers on their toes. x3 And I have more fun with the pairings (which involve a very complex love-web that is soon to develop) in one of the final chapters, which is basically a bunch of oneshots squished into one. And all before the finale, too. x3 Yay. ;3_

**Note:** Not that this is totally important, but, yeah. :3 During the Inohara portion of this chapter, the action kind of splits in two. Meaning there are two seperate conversations/event-type-things going on at the same time. Originally, they were all squished together without seperation, but after reading it again I thought it might be confusing, so I seperated the parts with a dash everytime the focus switched. Keep in mind these aren't seperate scenes or anything. They occur at the same time, and are supposed to flow. Hehe. x3 You'll kinda know what I mean when you get to that part.

--

**Blend (chapter sixteen)**

**..misson: catch and recruit..**

How many times did they have to walk home, all beat up?

Kona sighed. It was becoming a pattern - aliens equaled battles. Battles equaled wounds. Wounds equaled questions. They'd gotten around it a few times, with sleepovers and other excuses, but they couldn't keep avoiding home forever. And even though tonight it would probably be better, safer even, if they all stayed at the cafe overnight, but what would they tell their parents? '_This is our third sleepover in a row and by the way we're not coming home for a week?' _Like they'd buy that. There really weren't any more excuses, so they had to face the music.

Well, sort of. She tugged the sleeves her extremely baggy jacket to cover her hands. There were still ways to get around it. Sure, they had to go home this time, but it was late, and they'd probably just go straight to bed. As long as she kept wearing baggy clothes at home, she could go to school wearing anything and make up excuses there. They didn't know any better.

"Ara... Are we... there yet?" Yumi asked with a drowzy yawn, walking slowly and sleepishly beside the other girls. Kona smiled softly, but shook her head.

"Not yet. Remember, Yumi? Your house is last. I'll walk you there, though, 'kay?" And then she would catch a bus to her own home. After seeing and making sure that Roxi and Kikyo were safely home first, of course.

_"You all need to stick together from now on,"_ Ryou had explained to them just before they left_, "Stay in groups. Try not to go anywhere alone if at all possible. The aliens are still around, just remember that, and they're just waiting for a chance to attack. Watch eachother's backs." _So tonight, Kona was in charge of keeping the group together and bringing them all home. Kikyo wasn't too fond of the idea - she didn't take too kindly to the fact it was a lot like _babysitting_ - but Kona assured her that Kikyo was as much of a chaperone as she was.

"Your house, right Roxi?"

"Yeah..." Roxi was wiped out, too. There was a little scratch along the bruise on her arm, but that could be hidden easily, and even explained, if it came to that. She was the least injured of the four. Which was a relief to everyone, considering the amount of damage she'd been taking lately. They all waited, and watched as the brunette climbed her porch and stepped inside, the chatter of her and her parents filling the dulled silence. They moved on - Kikyo's wasn't that far away, either, and she insisted that they not wait for her to get in the door. Yumi was last, just as Kona had said, and the small girl gave the older one a quick hug before hurrying inside her warm, safe house. Kona smiled, shook her head, and then went to the bus stop.

It had been a long day.

--

Ichigo slept a very happy sleep. Yes, it was dreamless, but how could she not be happy? When she woke up, she'd be free from the chains of her groundedness. Even though she'd have to go to school, and work, maybe even sleep some more in Math class, it was better than staying cooped up in her cramped room with absolutely nothing to do. Especially knowing all the other girls were out there, fighting aliens, having fun.

Okay - so maybe alien fighting was a lot less than _fun. _But it was certainly starting to seem that way, for someone who was missing so much of it. In fact, what Ichigo didn't know, is that any other girl would have been glad to miss the battles; they had been painful, difficult, and a huge struggle. Ichigo just didn't think that deeply.

_It's not fair, after all. I took a risk, and instead of getting more excitement, I got grounded. There's no justice here. No justice..._

Her dreams kept going in and out, from complete blankess to her own rambling voice. Then, as if pulled like a ribbon from a box labelled '_memory_', a scene played out before her eyes. And then it froze, on one particular frame - a shadow, a slender figure, a black feather frozen, floating before her very eyes. _What? What does this mean?_

Then she remembered. That had been the figure, the strange shadow that had fought Ari away from her, saved her. She had been dressed all in black - at least, that was what her blurred vision had made out - and moved like a swift shadow, battling away the alien effortlessly. _Who was she? _She hadn't gotten a chance to ask, a change to get a better look at her. All she had was this capture photo in her memory, and as she pondered over it in her sleep, a puzzle began to slowly piece itself together.

_"There's a fifth new mew."_

_"I don't know much about this 'fifth member', but..."_

_And there were wings. Black wings._

_That's.._ It pieced itself together in her head, forming a complete image. Ichigo felt her eyes slowly opening as she was roused from her peaceful sleep, staring at the wall across from her.

_That's her!_

--

After making such an important discovery, Ichigo was determined to tell the others. However, as usual, she slept in; only to awaken when the door swung open and "_Ichigoo_! You're going to be_ laaate_!" was chanted by her perky mother. Which left her about a minute and a half to change, do her hair, pack her stuff and zoom to school. No time to call Ryou or any of the others.

It didn't help much during the day, either. She was impatient and squirmish about the whole thing. And, as life usually does, the more she wanted the day to end the time kept on going slower and slower. She could have screamed, if Moe and Miwa weren't bent on distracting her.

"It's just one of her moods. If we're lucky, she'll be agreeable again by noon."

Hardly. By noon, Ichigo was at her peak; during break, she paced through the halls, outside, even around some empty classrooms, chewing her nails and looking at the clock constantly. For the last two blocks of the day, she never took her eyes away from the time one; when the teacher noticed how intent she was on it, it was temporarily removed, so she resorted to asking people the time every 5 minutes. It was frustrating, and someone would have taken it out on her if the bell had rang one minute later.

"Gotta go! Part-time job! _ByeMoeByeMiwaaa_!" The redhead called before practically stampeding down the steps and further down the road. Her friends watched from where they stood, sweatdropping nervously.

"Eh? Moe-chan?" Roxi appeared beside them, blinking in confusion. "...What's Ichigo-chan in such a hurry for?"

"Dunno. Probably just Ichigo," Miwa replied with a little shrug. Then, turning to Roxi, she tilted her head. "Hm. She seemed like she was in a rush to get to her job. You work at the Cafe too now, don't you? Is there anything weird going on right now?"

Roxi blinked. Then, she came to a realization - "She - she probably just wants to tell them something," - she watched as the two walked away, chatting randomly. Once they were gone, she put a hand to her forehead and heaved a sigh.

_She does know me and Yumi are right here, doesn't she?_

--

"Guysss! _Uwah_!" Underestimating the weakness of the door, Ichigo toppled inside the cafe as she attempted to run the entrance down. Kona, Kikyo and Ryou looked over at her strangely, and then moved on. They were all too used to her acting like this.

"H-hey!" Pushing herself up off the floor, the girl tried to shake the dust from her hair. _Yumi needs to do a better job of sweeping, _"Ryou, I found something out about the fifth mew! I know who she is!"

They all stopped, but not in surprise and curiosity like Ichigo had anticipated. In fact, they just had blank looks on their faces. "Oh, that's right," Ryou finally said, pushing some hair from his forehead and walking to the kitchen, "You weren't here yesterday. You missed a lot,"

"_What_?" Ichigo cried. _I knew it_! "Didn't you hear me? I _know_ who the fifth mew is!"

"Yeah, we know. We found her."

Ichigo stared at them blankly, her face looking a sickly colour. They stared back. Or, at least, tried to, until they realized she wasn't blinking, which convinced them to move and continue taking down chairs, steering clear of the redhead at all costs. The room was abnormally silent, which prompted Kikyo and Kona to work more quickly, until everything was set up, which was when they quickly scurried to the kitchen and as far away from Ichigo as possible. More silence. It was unnerving - even Keiichiro glanced out the doorway every few minutes, nervously, only to see the girl still standing there, staring blankly at a wall. Ryou seemed completely unfazed, as if something like this were to be expected from Ichigo_. I told you so _might have been an appropriate phrase, but he really hadn't told them anything of the sort, so saying it would be pointless. It just sounded right for the situation.

"Sorry we're la-" Kona practically raced out the kitchen when she heard Roxi and Yumi walk in, and grabbed them by the arms, roughly dragging them at top speed back to the safety of the cooking room. Yumi looked back several times with confusion as Ichigo, who still hadn't moved an inch, and Kona also several times had to put a quick finger to her mouth to keep her from talking. They all stayed in the kitchen, quietly, peering out the doorway, as if waiting for a bomb to explode. More minutes passed, and nothing seemed to happen, so they cautiously began to get to work on the cakes, hoping silently that she would move before the customers arrived.

Then she burst. "**_IT'S NOT FAIR!" _**She wailed at the top of her lungs, which Ryou could have sworn shook the building for a brief second, the others nearly dropping the dishes and cakes they'd been holding. All they heard following that was a pouty whimper, and the catgirl stomping down the stairs.

--

Roxi went down after her, eventually, and tried to coax her to come back up, but Ichigo refused to budge, muttering something about being useless and not needed and a complete ditz and never being smart. After exhausting her efforts, the brunette reported this to Ryou, who, after a brief period of thought, decided to call a meeting, since she was already down there, anyways. It would be easier than dragging her down a flight of steps when she was in a good mood but not in a mood for meetings.

"We need to figure out what we're going to do," the blonde announced simply from where he sat, hunched over to face the girls who stood all around in their Cafe uniforms. Keiichiro promised to take care of the customers, once they'd all been settled, but they all knew this had to be brief. People who came to the cafe were usually impatient, or short of time, especially on weekdays. Keiichiro was a miracle-worker, as Roxi described it, but he couldn't handle 15+ angry customers at once all by himself.

"Yeah. And what's that?" Kikyo replied bluntly. It seemed rude, at first glance, but they all knew it wasn't as simple as Ryou made it seem. "We talked to her about it, and she's not going to come over. Without a fight, at least."

"And we don't want to resort to that," Ryou reminded them, "She's supposed to be your _teammate_, not your _enemy_."

Roxi nodded. "We just... have to figure out how to convince her to come over to our side and fight with us." She sighed afterward, knowing it wasn't much of an explanation. But that was really it, broken down neatly. They _needed_ her on their side. They'd all seen how powerful she was - with her, they might have a better chance at driving Ari and Hanajima away.

Kona had a hand stuck through her black hair, her head tilted to look up at the ceiling, blue eyes narrowed in thought. "Well... when I first met her, she wasn't any more receptive, but she was transformed. Maybe if we can catch her in her normal state, we'll be able to convince her..."

A frown suddenly crossed Kikyo's face. "Hold on," Shifting from where she stood, the tall girl turned to face Ichigo. The redhead was sitting against the wall, still pouting, but Kikyo spoke to her anyways. "Ichigo - you've met this girl before, then, haven't you?"

Ichigo nodded quietly.

"And what did she look like?"

The redhead paused, though still looking a bit mopey. "Well..." she stared slowly, trying to recall that day. It was fuzzy, and she still remembered it clearly, somehow, "... she was dressed in all black, I think. And she had wings... Black wings... or... was it one _wing?" _She pondered, and frowned, squinting as if trying to figure it out, but Kikyo didn't care. She'd heard enough.

"So she was transformed," she said simply, and then turned back to the others, her arms folded neatly over her chest, "Don't you think its strange, that the only time we've ever encountered this girl is when she's transformed?"

"Maybe she just looks real different in real life!" Yumi suggested cheerfully.

"That's possible," Kona agreed with a nod, "Or maybe she just has a way to know where trouble is, like, a sixth sense?"

Kikyo looked skeptical on that one, but shrugged it off. She'd come to realize, with this whole mew business, _anything _was a possibility. Ryou, however, didn't seem as convinced; there was a thoughtful frown on his face, his blue eyes calculating, trying to piece things together bit by bit. As Ichigo watched from where she sat, she puzzled through trying to figure out what was going through his mind. It did no good; Shirogane Ryou was unreadable, like a novel in some foreign language. Ichigo sighed, and moved on to the brainstorming session, deciding she was done with her pout. She'd just be a part of the action, now - and she wouldn't get caught being sneaky.

"Maybe she has a completely different identity. Like, here she's a one-winged mew, but maybe she really lives in America as a supermodel and transports over here," Roxi suggested seriously. Yumi giggled.

"But," Ryou cut in for the first time, resting his arms horizontally across his legs, "there had to be something to _work_ with, didn't there? For me to be able to inject her like that, by accident. Besides, from what I've seen, she's definitely sticking around the area. Just not where _people _would normally roam."

There was drawn out silence in response to that, as the girls heard what Ryou explained and tried to analyze it. It was becoming more and more difficult. It was like the answer was right on the tip of their tongue, but it somehow managed to slip away at the last moment, eluding their grasp like some slippery secret. Just -

"Excuse me," They all turned their heads to see the door opening, Keiichiro poking his head down the stairway sheepishly, "we've just had a party of six enter with orders, and the tables are starting to fill up."

"We'll be right up, Keiichiro," Ryou said simply, blankly, though he would much rather ponder on this longer. It didn't matter. There would be time for that. _I hope..._

Within two minutes, just as the blonde had promised, the girls were all up and busy, serving tables and taking orders and helping out in the kitchen. But just because they were occupied, didn't mean their minds weren't on the matter at hand. It was always there, just at the back of their minds, prodding through their usual thought, weaving into their brains. _We need to figure this out. We need to find out what's happening..._

Time dragged on too slowly, it seemed, but finally the Cafe was closed and the girls had some time to them selves. As they cleaned, Kikyo brought forth an idea, discussing it privately among the girls. She would rather not have Ryou or Keiichiro involved in it. Not yet.

"Ryou was right, we need to stick together from now on," The girl stated simply as she propped a chair neatly on a table, eyeing the girls with caution, "The aliens obviously have power and the ability to manipulate a situation to their advantage. If we're split up, they've got even more chance for tactic; now that they know about the fifth mew, there's no doubt they're going to get sneakier. Looking for us when we're not together."

"So what you're saying," Kona brushed a damp cloth across the rim of the table, her voice low, "is that we need to stay together, right? And if we do, the aliens are less likely to attack?"

"Right."

So there it was, and it was all they needed. Ryou sent them out, as usual, giving Kona instructions just as he had the night before to keep an eye on the others. But instead of heading home, the girls all took a turn at the curb and headed off into another direction, disapearing into the night.

"Okay," Roxi breathed, holding a small and simplified map out infront of her with gloved hands. It was cold out, even during the day; but during the night, it was near frigid. She could see her breath collecting in the air before her. "Shirogane-san said she was sticking around '_places where people don't usually go', _right? So, not in the shopping district," Yumi, who was following close beside her, happily crossed off an area on the map.

"Or any of the major streets. Even near midnight, those places are crowded. She obviously doesn't want to stand out, for whatever reason." Kona pointed out. Another _'chik'_ of the marker.

Kikyo nodded, tugging her sleeves absently over her hands, "Better cross off any of the convenience stores and popular housing areas. There's always some group that hangs around places like those." _Chik._

For a minute or so, the girls seemed to be out of ideas to throw out as they wandered carefully and quietly down the sidewalk, trying to keep from the cold. Then, Ichigo, who had been moping around a bit ever since she found out she had to walk around in the cold for an hour, spoke up. "What about Inohara park? It's been pretty deserted lately, with the cold temperatures."

Kikyo and Kona glanced at eachother, considering it, and then nodded. "Great. We'll start there."

--

Inohara Park had always been such a calm, peaceful place. Even though her last visit here had been anything_ but _peaceful, Ichigo still admired it; it held the beauty of nature, even near the frigid winds of winter, as if sealed in time and away from the rest of the destructive world.

At night, however, it was a completely different story.

"A-are you guys sure anyone would even _go_ here? It's really creepy," Ichigo squeaked, practically clinging to Roxi's arm. The latter looked less than pleased, but did nothing to shove her away.

"You're the one who suggested it," Kikyo retorted in a flat tone with a careless shrug, still walking at a normal pace towards the entrance. She seemed to be the only one completely unfazed by the shadows and the noises; even Kona and Yumi were a bit jumpy under the circumstances. "Besides, we might as well check. If she's _not_ here, well, we know she's not here."

Ichigo didn't look to thrilled, her wide amber eyes locked on a swaying branch above her. "If you say so," she mumbled, but the look on her face clearly screamed _'Run! RunRunRunRunRunRun!'. _She didn't, maybe because she didn't want to look for a coward, maybe because Roxi had started clinging to her arm equally as they all made their way through the path, making escape impossible.

Certainly, they had a reason to be frightened, aside from the darkness. But it was the darkness that caused it all; the trees were barren of most of their leaves, the skeletal branches reaching out and casting wavering shadows on the ground, which seemed only like an endless abyss of black. As they walked, twigs, leaves, and grass all crunched beneath their feet, echoing among the gentle but frightening breeze that brushed through the plantlife. Ichigo wondered if anyone, even Kikyo, knew where they were going. But she didn't wonder out loud. She was too occupied, looking nervously from left to ride, swallowing and walking as softly as possible.

When there was a flapping of wings, Ichigo nearly screamed, practically tackling Roxi before having a hand shoved messily before her mouth. Kikyo glared at her sideways.

_Be. Quiet_. She mouthed harshly, and then stopped, holding all of them back with an outstretched arm. There was another rush of air, like a wing whisking along it, a breath in the silence. Ichigo paled, and they could make out something moving in the not-so-distant distance, slowly, cautiously. Kikyo's expression remained numb. No one said a word, and they all looked as completely terrified as their 'leader', who was currently trying to find a hiding spot behind a frozen Roxi.

Kona seemed to snap out of it first. Still being cautious, her ice-blue eyes seemed to narrow, and then widen, as she nudged Kikyo lightly in the side. The older girl silently faced the direction of the figure again, and as it slowly stepped through a nearby gathering of trees, she saw a shape protruding from its back. Turning towards the other girls with the most silence she could bear, Kona made hand signals, mouthing distinct words, and pointing at the figure. They caught on within seconds, Ichigo the last to get the picture, and turned to face forward once more.

_It was her_. The fifth Blend Mew.

Yumi was hasty to meet her, and in doing so tried to run forward. Kikyo caught her roughly by the sleeve before she could take more than a step, but the girl seemed to have bad enough luck that her foot had crunched down on a rather large stick. The sound cracked through the silence, obviously startling the girl in the distant shadows, and they could all see her slowly turning her head to observe them in turn.

Then, before anything else could happen, there was a black blur from a higher tree which landed right against the mysterious girl, knocking her down and out of side. No one was quick enough to stop Ichigo from screaming this time, but they all started running in that direction.

"You intrusive wench --_ I've found you_!" A familiar voice growled, and as they approached quickly, Kona and Kikyo pulled themselves out of sight, behind a tree. Ari had the winged girl pinned to the ground, a dagger at her throat, anger gleaming in her golden eyes. She hadn't heard Ichigo scream - the attack had made a loud enough racket, she wouldn't have heard anything besides the muffled yelp of surprise from the girl now beneath. Besides, she was intent on eliminating _another_ enemy. "You're going to regret every breath you've taken thus far, girl. We don't offer _mercy _to the _foolish_," The black haired girl beneath appeared to be putting up a struggle, but it was hard with a sharp weapon pressed up against her skin.

Ari just smiled, wryly, applying more pressure so a trickle of blood cascaded across the girl's pale skin. "Still too good to say anything? Very well. I won't offer any last words. But I'll make it as painless as possible... unless you change your mind and join us. We might forgive you, if you're actually useful."

Even pinned against the ground, the winged girl kept a firm and dark glare on the alien above her. "I never level with _scum_," she hissed simply, sending the intended flash of rage across Ari's face.

"I warned you!" She hissed, and, drawing her weapon back, switched its position in her hand so it was pointing directly for her. She helpless, unable to move out of the way. There was no air of confidence on her face, just a grim acceptance of the fatal damage about to befall her.

"Stupid _coward_!" A voice howled, followed by hushed protests, but before Ari could even snap her head up to look who the intruders were, she was nailed in the head with a rock.

"_Hyaagh_!" She shrieked, her hand immediately fluttering to the spot of impact. The alien's eyes flashed in the direction of the attack, to see a frozen and untransformed Ichigo standing where she was, arm outstretched in a _just-thrown-something _position. Ari snarled, not tearing her eyes away for a second. "So," she said calmly as she stood to her feet, "the witch is back."

"_Witch_?" That seemed to shake Ichigo out of her frozen state, even though panic was still written in her eyes. Gritting her teeth angrily, the redhead stepped boldly forward, clenching her fist, "You little -- _ugh! _At least I'm not a _coward_, _sneaking_ up on people in the_ dark_!"

"It's called the element of surprise,_ neko-baka_!" Ari retorted in return, flashing her daggers into her hands. Ichigo twitched, unable to even put up a defensive position. "Looks like I don't need that with you. You're just naturally weak, just like the rest of them!" Jumping right over the limp body of the girl, Ari dashed forward for a swift and painful attack.

"Surpriiise!" A voice chimed, and Yumi dove it, knocking one dagger easily away with her bell and knocking Ari off balance so her attack missed by a long shot. The alien stumbled, swivelled around, and sneered. The other four girls were all fully transformed with their weapons, ready. Though, Kikyo looked less than pleased.

"That was stupid, Ichigo." She said bluntly. The redhead in question smiled sheepishly.

"Eheh. I know._ Sorry_."

"Roxi, go make sure she's okay," Kona hissed to the panda-girl beside her, who nodded obediently, "We've got it covered here." The black haired girl then shifted her large bell to her left hand, and sprang forward with her panther reflex, aiming a shot at Ari. "Ribbon Blossom _Shine!"_

-

Roxi immediately darted behind and through the little gathering of trees to where the black-winged girl had been laying. She was now on her side, sitting up, a gloved hand pressed gently to her neck where little trickles of blood still spilled.

"Are you alright? Let me help," Roxi said quickly, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder. It was instantly swatted away.

"I don't _need_ your help," The brunette froze at the reply, a pair of cold blue eyes glaring back at her.

-

"Hup!" Avoiding Kona's attack completely, Ari transported through the air to behind the skidding cat girl, instantly striking her in the back. Or trying to, at least. Kona was getting wise to her tricks. She twisted her body away so she only felt a rush of air along her spine, though her landing was less than neat. Kona thudded against the ground, but that gave Ari no advantage, as Yumi was now on her tail.

"It's not nice to sneak up on people!" Yumi announced as she practically jumped onto Ari's back, clinging to her shoulders with a death grip. Ari struggled in surprise, and then snarled.

"You little_ brat_!"

"I'm _not _a brat!" The horse girl replied angrily, and then shone her bell right in the alien's face. "Ribbon Raspberry _Dazzle_!"

"Get _off!" _Ari screamed, jumping up into the air and slamming her back into a tree so Yumi let go in pain before crumpling to the ground. Before the blue haired girl could so much as take a swipe at her, she heard a distinct voice chant from behind,

"Ribbon Kahidra_ Blast_!"

-

"I-I'm sorry," Roxi stuttered, staring at the girl with wide eyes. "I just... I just wanted to help."

"Yeah. Well, I don't _need_ it, or _want_ it," her voice was low, raspy, almost as cold as her gaze. Roxi shivered. "So just go."

"But - " Roxi stepped forward, reaching out tentatively again, " - you're hurt."

"So?" She snapped in return, turning her body to fully face the girl, "I've also _lost_ my only refuge. I'd be better off dead than _lost_. Look what you've done..."

-

Ari was knocked forward, but not off her feet. She hovered right into the air, flame spiralling all around her in anger. "Kittens," she growled in a low voice, gritting her teeth, "shouldn't play with fire. They should run before they get_ burned_!" Lashing her weapons forward, surges of blue flame came rushing forward, bombarding the girls.

"Uwah!" Kikyo skillfully stepped out of the way, and Kona scooped Yumi up and dodged the attack as well. The cascade continued, surrounding them, making it impossible to attack and constantly harder to dodge.

"Ichigo!" Kona called, keeping a firm hold on the small girl in her arms while jumping from side to side to avoid being hit, "Transform! _Quick_! And help us!"

"R-right!" Ichigo stumbled out from where she'd been hiding, and whipped out her pendant, gently pressing it to her lips. "Mew Mew Strawberry, Metamorpha-_sis_!"

-

"Why?" Roxi whispered, her eyes wide at the girl before her. _Better off dead than lost... _What was she talking about? What was she lost from? When there was no reply, the panda-girl opened her mouth to say something, ask about it, but then she heard Yumi scream from behind and other incoherent shouts following. Gasping, she whirled around on her heel and darted to the battle field, forgetting about the black haired girl and leaving her behind. She wasn't co-operating, anyways.

"Strawberry Bell!" Roxi arrived just in time to see Ichigo summon her Bell in a flash of pink light and sparkles, holding it out defensively to the alien enemy. Kona was holding Yumi protectively, who didn't look too badly beaten up, just tired, and was trying to get back down to the ground. ("_Come on! Araaa, I'm fine! Lemme down so I can help!")_

"Keh..." Ari glowered at the group of girls, taking a step back but still not faltering. It didn't matter. Even she knew she didn't have a chance. Maybe if Hanajima was here, and if that stupid winged girl didn't fight for the others. The first was unlikely; Ari had left without telling Hanajima with the intentions of fulfilling a surprise attack herself. The second was even more so.

"You just don't know when to stop interfering, do you?" Ari called out, but not to the girls. She was shouting at the black-winged girl in the distance. "Oh well. At least I know you're _just like the others _- weak. _Harmless_. I don't know why we ever saw you as a threat." The alien smirked mockingly, "If these kittens hadn't have shown up, you'd be dead in your own pool of blood by now..."

"Stop it!" Ichigo cried angrily to the alien, bounding off her feet and aiming her Bell right for her target. She focused her energy all into her heart shaped weapon, "Ribbon Strawberry _Surprise_!" Strands of powerful pink light blasted out from the center of the bell, wrapping themselves all around Ari. The alien simply closed her eyes and tilted her head back, accepting to excruciating pain the light was causing her before disapearing, fading back into the air. Gone.

Once her feet hit the ground, Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief. The other girls looked just as wiped out and glad it was over as she was. Fully intent on letting her energy catch up with her, Ichigo stood still, until she remembered something. Her pink eyes widened and she hurriedly turned around, just in time to see the winged figure walking off.

"Wait!" She called, and dashed for her before any of the girls could stop her, warn her. The girl just kept walking, calmly, her black wing outstretched as if ready to take flight. "_Wait!_ Where are you going?"

Panting, Ichigo was able to slow down - the other didn't seem as if she were in any hurry to get anywhere, so she was able to keep up. For a moment, it didn't seem like the girl would answer. She just kept walking. Then, she said in a low tone, "Somewhere I won't be lost and won't be found."

"Eh?" _Lost... from what?_ It was hard to talk to someone when they wouldn't stop moving, or even face you, so Ichigo gently grabbed her arm. The girl stopped. "You don't have to be lost," she said warmly with a smile, tilting her head, "You can come back with us. We can be a team now. With you, we can beat the aliens for sure!" A few strands of Ichigo's pink hair fell over her eyes, and she blinked as she talked. "I'm Ichigo," she smiled, "What's your name?"

"_Dark Angel_." She replied coldly. Ichigo blinked in confusion. That didn't sound like a name. As if in response to her unspoken question, the girl continued - "I had a name, once. But that's all changed now. I'm not who I once was. That name is just a useless bunch of letters. _Meaningless_."

Ichigo still didn't understand. The girl started to walk again, even with Ichigo's gloved hand wrapped around her arm, so the catgirl had no choice but to tighten her grip and tug a bit to try and stop her.

"No, it's _not _meaningless!" She cried, putting a hand to her heart, "We _know_ what it's like. We're all in the same boat. You're one of us! We understand what you're going through!"

Then, suddenly, Ichigo felt her hand being jerked away, her entire body being pushed back. _"How could you possibly know what I'm going through?"_ The girl cried in anger, her wide eyes flaming. Ichigo's body stiffened almost in fear. "I'm not like _any _of you! You all just think I am. You're all just _selfish little girls _who want their spot in the limelight, who want to sacrifice the happiness of others to have it all to yourselves."

"But-" Ichigo started talking, reached out to touch her again, but the girl's hand flew to the handle of her sword. Ichigo froze. The girl grimaced.

"Just leave me alone," she said icily, turning her back to them once more. Then the wing on her back stretched itself out fully, glowing a deep aura which surrounded the girl completely, nearly blinding Ichigo and making her look away. When it cleared, she was gone. Not a trace.

"Ichigo!" The girls called, and ran over to her as fast as they could. The cat girl was silently staring at the ground, looking thoroughly disheartened. They didn't say a word.

"Don't worry about her," Kikyo assured her, shaking her head, "It's her choice, after all. We can't force her to come with us."

"Yeah, we'll do just fine without her," Roxi added in, patting her friend on the shoulder. Ichigo still said nothing.

Kona sighed, but managed a smile. "Come on. Let's just forget about the whole thing and go back to the cafe for some tea, okay?"

"No." Ichigo finally spoke, lifting her head and looking up at the trees. A sad smile appeared on her face. "I don't... I don't_ want _to forget. We need to find out what she's lost. We need to help her. Whether or not she joins us is a completely different matter, but..." Ichigo breathed, turning towards her friends seriously,

"You're right, Roxi. We don't need her. But _she needs us_."

--

_Next Chapter:_

_With the search for the Dark Angel still pending, the girls are facing troubles of their own. Having to undergo punishment for their 'foolish behaviour' by a certain blonde, everyone's feeling a little restless and uptight. Not to mention useless without the ability to continue looking for the reluctant ally. And, meanwhile, Ari and Hanajima are out of options - except for one, of course. And she's not any happier with Ichigo than the other two are. _


	17. Bombarding of Accusations

**xuri:** Heyy guys. Sorry, been a bit busy, but here's chapter seventeen. Yay. And - guess what? This introduces our final OC character of the series. OMG SURPRISE. Now you guys don't have to go trying to learn a new name, face, personality and overall weirdness through the next nine chapters. Yaaay.

SamKo: ... o-o Now, why didn't**_ I_** think of something like that? That would have been SO much cooler! T-T And the cat didn't even play an important role... that would have been like... unexpected... But I totally used it as a useless event. My god. I'm horrible. xD Although, it was supposed to mean something, regarding Kona's abilities, to be mentioned in later chapters. I just never got around to fitting it in, exactly. Bad xuri. x3

Applecake: Yay for Ari, hehe. I did enjoy toying with a few random pairings in this fic. ;3 I'm a sucker for romance, really, even if this is supposed to be more adventure-y directed. But, TMM had plenty of romance, so it's all good. xD And Ryou is just fun to write for. I get to use sarcasm. OMG YAY SARCASM. xD Thanks for the reviews. ;D

--

**Blend (chapter seventeen)**

**..bombarding of accusations..**

"You went, didn't you, Ari?"

Just in mid tip-toe position, Ari froze at hearing a deep voice greet her. She winced. How had Hanajima heard her? She'd appeared only seconds ago, quiet as a mouse, ready to sneak back into their quarters unnoticed. That was hard to do, considering she was wounded. Badly. But she hadn't made a sound - not one. But there Hanajima was, right infront of her, arms folded over her chest.

She looked annoyed.

"Without telling me. And look what happened?" The older alien's voice was bitter as she looked at Ari, who was paler than usual with a few bruises from the battle, "You've failed miserably. Again. Did you think without my help you'd somehow manage to defeat _all six of them?"_

Ari grimaced. "Obviously, what we've been doing up until now hasn't worked," She let her lips curve down into a scowl, then, walking past Hanajima so she could sit down. "I wanted to take a new approach. And I knew you'd either protest, or you'd tag along and make a _mess_ of it."

"An experiment, then, was it?" Ari felt her teeth clench at Hanajima, whose tone was now mocking. "Another one failed, Ari. When will you learn the problem is that we're _outnumbered_?"

"How are we supposed to fix that?" Ari snapped, and then looked at Hanajima, who was smiling wryly. Ari blinked, and her eye twitched. "_Don't_ answer that._ Do not answer that!"_

"You _knew _we'd have to let her in eventually," Hanajima drawled, rolling her eyes. Ari was so immature about this subject, it drove her crazy. "Besides. We're out of options. If we want to bring Momomiya down, we need to use _all _our forces."

"But_ her_?" Ari groaned, sitting on the floor against the wall, frowning down at her wounds, "She's... she's just a nuisance! And she creeps me out, Hanajima. Do we _have _to?"

"Quit whining," Obviously having had enough of Ari, Hanajima turned to leave the vicinity, "You're going to retrieve her tommorrow and we'll formulate a new attack plan. This time, we'll have a new edge."

Sighing, the blue haired alien gave a groan of protest and lolled her head to the side before muttering, "Fine." That would be her job, then. Probably the last thing in the world she wanted to be doing. Ari would have protested, demanded why Hanajima couldn't go out on this task, when something suddenly occured to her. And apparently, it occured to Hanajima at the same time, as they both turned to face eachother, looks of question on their faces. And then they spoke in almost perfect unison.

"Where _is_ she?"

--

Ichigo was grounded._ Again. _But not on her parent's accord.

"What were you thinking?" Ryou yelled at all of them, anger sprawled across his face. "Honestly, _tell me what you were thinking_! Going out at night, _looking _for a fight?"

"We weren't looking for a _fight_," Kona protested in distress, "We were looking for the Dark Angel."

"_I. Don't. Care_! The point is, you _deliberately _went out looking for something related to this case without telling me. And even if you hadn't intended to find her, Ari _attacked_ you. What happened if all of you had been taken down? No one comes by Inohara Park that time of night, this time of year! You could have been there for _days_! You could have been dead!"

"You told us," Kikyo broke in quietly, thought even she looked a bit shaken by Ryou's outburst, "to stay together as a group. And we did."

Ryou snarled, obviously not amused by Kikyo's input. "So, that must mean I told you to go out in the dead of night, all by yourselves, and look for a potentially dangerous character!_ Did I?" _Silence. "That's right. _You all disobeyed orders._ I'm putting the Cafe under lockdown for the day."

"_What_?" Ichigo looked horrified, then angry, "Lockdown? What is this, a _prison_?"

"It's the punishment for your childish behaviour!"

Ichigo sputtered something else, but it was incoherent. It wouldn't do any good. Ryou was dead serious about his decision, and it didn't look like he was going to back down, either. Without another word, he marched past the girls, up the stairs, stopping just at the doors. "You're all coming back here tommorrow at 3:20 sharp for your shifts," he called down to them, "and you're all staying here. We'll be keeping a close eye on you. We'll be escorting you home. Once here, you can go anywhere in the building. _Just. Don't. Leave_." He left, simple as that.

For a minute, it was silent. "_Shirogane_!" Ichigo screamed at the top of her lungs, and then clunked her head against the wall with a whimper. "Notfairnotfair_notfair_! I can't be grounded! _Again_! He has _no right _to ground us! _BAKA SHIROGANE_!"

"Ichigo," Kona waved a hand nervously, trying to console the near-hysterical girl, "Just... calm down. We probably should have told him what we were doing anyways."

"Oh, so you're taking_ sides _now?"

"No one is taking sides. There _are_ no sides," Kikyo said in a commanding voice, her arms folded over her chest. The look of brief fear had faded from her face, leaving her usual deadpan expression. "It's just like he said - our punishment."

"Yeah! Besides, it's not really that different," Yumi threw in with a smile, "we just have to work like usual. We just can't go anywhere is all."

Everyone was silent for a moment. "She's right," Roxi said with a nod, "I guess we can just use this '_lockdown_' to our advantage. Make a plan or something. After all, if we're going to get this girl on our side..." She paused, looking at the others, "We're going to need to be doing something differently."

They all looked hesitant about it, but what choice did they have? "Fine," Ichigo mumbled with a sigh, folding her arms over her chest. "Let's go, then. Before '_Mom and Dad' _get all huffy about it," After making an angry reference to Keiichiro and Ryou, though mostly Ryou, she walked back up the stairs. The others sighed, looked at eachother, and then followed.

_Let the lockdown begin..._

--

Ichigo was _not _looking forward to going to the cafe after school. Especially since Ryou was now threatening to show up at their schools and escort them to their job, as well. _What's his problem? We're old enough to take care of ourselves..._

Even so, did she have a choice? After all, if she didn't show up, she wouldn't doubt that Ryou wouldn't storm over to her school or her house and drag her to the cafe against her will. He seemed to stand too firmly on his resolve for that. Sighing, Ichigo proceeded on her walk to school - it had been a late night, and she was tired. There were probably tests today. God, Ichigo hated tests. She hadn't been paying attention at all these past few months - why did they keep expecting her to pass them? _Don't they know saving the world is more important than algebra?_

As she made her way down the front walkway, she overhead a few students conversing. A group of cheerful girls, in fact, who looked to be a year or two younger than her. Ichigo walked past them without a second glance, or any attention at all. At least, until a particular phrase caught her ears -

"Oh! Have you seen that street performer? I was at the park yesterday, and there was this huge crowd all around... Man, what an uproar!"

Ichigo practically froze. Street Performer? Park? _Pudding? Pudding's back? _Suddenly, her spirits felt lifted. She'd been trying so hard not to miss all the others - Mint, Lettuce, Berii, Pudding, Zakuro - but, in truth, she still did. They were like family to her now, after all. But hearing that the monkey-girl was back in town suddenly made her feel cheerful, more cheerful than she'd felt in days. Maybe they were all coming back? It'd been a month already... maybe...

"Ah, yeah! Nehhh, she's so pretty and tall, isn't she? Kind of dark looking, but it made her dances look so gorgeous!"

And just like that, Ichigo's spirits fell again. That couldn't be Pudding. She was too short, too young looking; besides, dancing didn't seem to be her style. Pudding's style was more balancing on balls and preforming magic tricks with a touch of hyperactive charm. Not dancing. Sighing to herself, Ichigo walked on past the girls to the school lobby, blocking out the rest of the conversation. She didn't care. She shouldn't have been eavesdropping, anyways.

She had a day to get through.

--

"Mn... Mn..."

"Ichigo-chan, it couldn't have been _that_ bad,"

"Oh, really? _It was_, Roxi. We had half a block to complete a review package I had no clue about, and in three classes we got quizzes_! Quizzes!_ I know I haven't been paying attention, but I _know_ there were no upcoming quizzes, otherwise I'd be overly stressed out. The nerve!"

"Ara, That's why they're called 'pop quizzes'! They _pop _on ya!" Yumi suggested brightly, keeping up with the two girls at a light jog. The small girl carried all her schoolwork in a gym bag, though Ichigo suspected there were sneakers and sports uniforms in there as well. The good weather they'd been permitted with lately allowed for more outdoor activities, and Yumi took full advantage of this.

"Rrr..." Ichigo sniffed, "They could at least _warn_ me. Oh, hey, Kona,"

After meeting the high school girl along the way, the four continued to the cafe at a regular pace, though keeping it up to avoid being scolded for lateness. Kikyo was already there when they arrived, and, by the looks of it, had just finished an arugment with Ryou. Her eyes were narrowed in a slight glare as the others entered - Kikyo obviously wasn't pleased with being treated like a child - and Ryou just looked ticked off as he turned to go back down the stairs.

"Remember, girls. _Lockdown_."

Ichigo's eye twitched. "It's not like we go anywhere _anyways_!" She shouted back down the stairs before storming halfway across the room to set up tables.

Keiichiro opened the cafe about fifteen minutes later, allowing a flood of customers in. Kikyo was permitted break to sit and chat with Koji, though she was given strict orders _not_ to leave the building. Besides that, it was normal routine, and went smoothly, aside from Ichigo throwing the occasional tantrum or trying to pick a fight with Ryou. The others just seemed to accept it calmly while they politely served their customers.

"And what could I get for you?" Roxi smiled, flipping out her notepad. The customer at the table - dark violet haired with slanted blue eyes - looked up almost expressionlessly at her. Roxi blinked. The customer's pale lips curved into a smile, though it looked strangely unnatural.

"A slice of chocolate cake should be fine," she said in a quiet, almost whispy voice, though Roxi heard easily enough. Happily, the brunette took down to order, but before she turned to go - "That boy... what's his name?"

"Huh?" Roxi looked back at her in confusion, then glanced over her shoulder. Ryou was walking past, still with his shoulders a bit stiff, towards the kitchen. Turning back to the girl at the table, Roxi still looked puzzled, but replied, "Him? Er, Ryou. Shirogane Ryou, he's one of the owners of the cafe. Do you know him?"

The purple-haired girl just smiled again, resting her elbows neatly on the table and setting her chin on her clasped hands, "Now I do."

Roxi stared. There was a bit of a faraway, dreamy look in her eyes, so the waitress suspected she was finished and hesitantly walked away. Once she was out of sight, the girl shivered._ Creepy_. She'd ask Yumi to take that girl's order to her table, so she could wait on more a more normal customer instead.

--

"Baka Shirogane... Baka baka_ baka_." Ichigo seemed perfectly content where she was, muttering in a corner and fiddling with her work uniform in frustration. What gave him the right? Everyone, even Kikyo, seemed content with the new rules, but Ichigo didn't want to just abide by them. No, that would give Ryou a sense of power. Of course, it wouldn't give him a sense of inflicted suffering if she kept a cheery air, but that didn't seem good enough anyways. Staying in the corner sulkily and refusing to work seemed to be the best option.

"Neh..." Roxi seemed a little rigid as she came from the kitchen, glancing over her shoulder. Ichigo frowned. _What's up with her?_ Seeming to remember who she'd come to talk to, Roxi turned back to Ichigo suddenly, rubbing the back of her head nervously. "Uhm, Ichigo-chan, would you mind tending to the customers? Keiichiro-senpai asked me to help him with one of the cakes, and Kikyo's talking to Koji-san, and Yumi's already got a handful of people to serve, and Kona's washing dishes. There's only about two of them, I swear, and I've already given Keiichiro-senpai the orders." Ichigo blinked at the sudden term of respect given to the brown haired man, but nodded, slowly. Whatever. Ryou didn't seem to be around, anyways, so he wouldn't have to take joy in seeing her actually work. For Roxi's sake, she'd do it.

As she stepped out of the corner, Roxi practically hugged her in thanks, giving her the notepad as she rushed to help Keiichiro. Sighing to herself and shaking her head, Ichigo went about wandering around the cafe until Keiichiro called for her to pick up an order. It seemed like the usual group of customers, if there was such a thing. As she eyed them carefully, casually, as if trying to spark some interest into this dull, dull job, Ichigo caught sight of the door opening.

And she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw who it was.

Blue hair whisked brashly through the air as a tall, girlishly-clad figure stopped in the doorway, saw something, and then stormed toward one of the tables. "_There you are_!" Ari hissed between her teeth, slamming her hand on a table. The customer - the one with purple hair - gave a little jolt, looking up at the disguised alien in a bit of a daze.

_Ari. Ari. Ari. Ari. **ARI? **_Ichigo felt as if the blood was drained from her face. Since when did Ari _dare _to come to her cafe? _Her_ workplace? Who was she talking to? Why would she risk being attacked like this?

Then, Ichigo remembered something the alien had said to her.

_"We have other ways of hiding, you understand. You, on the other hand..."_

It seemed that, in the process of hiss-yelling at the table's occupant, Ari finally noticed a dumbstruck Ichigo standing in the distance. And this obviously brought her joy. All anger faded from her face as a smile of mockery painted itself on her lips, and she paused for a few seconds, soaking in the awkward air, as if savouring and enjoying it. Then, after basking in torment long enough, the alien very politely pulled up a chair at the table and seated herself, grinning triumphantly at Ichigo. Her face seemed to say, _you can't touch me. See all these people? I'm invincible. Ha._

Ichigo grit her teeth. She was no longer afraid. Ari was obviously just here to torment her. Glaring steadily in her direction, Ichigo watched as the alien-girl conversed half-heartedly with the girl at the table, every so often sending Ichigo a smug glance that nearly sent the redhead into a fit of rage. Just when she felt about annoyed enough to march over there and demand for her to leave. Then she heard Keiichiro call.

She hurried over there, and opened her mouth. What good had that ever done, though? "Akasaka-san, there's - "

"Ichigo-san, could you take this cake to table 6?" He requested politely, though the catgirl could hear mild irritation in his voice. Just to please him, she grabbed the plate, but tried again in an almost pleading tone.

"But Akasaka-san--"

"Ichigo, _go_. We can talk later. I still have to finish one of the pies."

She stared in disbelief as the brunette cook walked away in a hurry, issuing light hearted commands to Roxi who seemed more than happy to obey. Ichigo sighed. Ari wouldn't do anything anyways, would she? The girl glanced over at the table. There were too many people around. And all the other Mew girls were here, as well_. She's just trying to get in my head..._

Ichigo blinked at the table they were sitting at, and then looked down at the cake she held. She cringed_. Table six is Ari's table..._

Chewing her lip, the red haired girl stared at the pair, one of whom was still casting innocently-annoying glances in her direction. She didn't _want_ to go up there. Keeping her distance from the alien seemed to be the best bet. She tried approaching Yumi, but the usually overactive girl was already juggling a bunch of plates. ("I gotta buncha orders, Ichigo! You can handle _one slice _of chocolate cake!")

Making a whiney sound, Ichigo lowered her head in defeat. Ari wouldn't attack. Not physically. But Ichigo had learned that wasn't the worst of Ari's power over her - she could interfere in her life, make things more difficult, and no soul would even notice. It was depressing.

She sighed, and braced herself as she walked over to table six, keeping a firm and defiant expression on her face as she gently set the plate down. "Your chocolate cake," Ichigo couldn't hide the ice in her voice, but Ari was unfazed. The alien girl simply looked up at her and batted her eyelashes sweetly. The girl across from her reached for the cake, but Ari got the plate first. The other obviously wasn't pleased, a little confused, but the blue haired alien simply gave her an uncaring shrug.

"Thanks, _waiter," _Ari snickered, taking a little taste of the icing and grinning, "Think you could grab me some lemonade too? _Waiter_? Make sure to put ice in it. I like my drinks cold, otherwise they taste like mush. Can you handle that?"

Ichigo's eye twitched, very noticeably, which got what seemed like a gleeful reaction from Ari. She was really pushing it today. And still, the purple haired girl across from her didn't seem happy at all, as she tried to take the cake away; it was rightfully hers. Ari or no Ari, she wasn't about to lose a perfectly delicious dish of chocolate.

Ari waited, as if expecting a _'would that be all?' _in a cheery tone, but Ichigo stormed away without another word, her entire body tense_. How dare she! Is it bad enough she's already ruining my superhero life? And now she has to interfere with my real life? That... that -_

Ichigo's thoughts were cut off as she bumped into a certain blond, having not been watching where she was going. Rubbing her head and giving a little sniff, she turned to glare up at Ryou, who was looked down at her with mild amusement.

"What?" She growled. Maybe she should have told him about the alien in the cafe, Ichigo thought. Then again, she was still very angry with him for putting down this '_lockdown_'. He didn't deserve to know. "Watch where you're going, alright? I'm working, unlike _someone_ in this place,"

"Someone hasn't had their cake yet," He said plainly to her, only further infuriating Ichigo. Chuckling lightly, he ruffled her hair and walked right on past to the kitchen. Her face reddened with anger.

_Grr! Shirogane!_

In an angry huff, she resolved to completely forget about the lemonade, and stomped down to the basement to cool off. She, or anyone else for that matter, failed to notice the horrified expression on the pale-purple-haired-girl's face melt into one of dark, infuriated anger.

--

"Ryou..."

Kona paused, half her hand resting in the warm sink water. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and turned to face the blond haired boy she was addressing. Who, in fact, didn't seem to be paying much attention.

"Ryou, you shouldn't take all of this out on the others. It was my idea to go out, anyway, and they were afraid to go home alone. Can't you at least lift the lockdown for Yumi and Ichigo and Roxi? They're younger, they're just doing what they've been told to..."

Still not exactly looking at her, Ryou simply shook his head, staring at the wall. Kona took a breath and continued, turning back to the sink to wash some of the glasses.

"I know you're upset. I know it was for our safety, and you're just trying to protect us. But, Ryou... we were created - I mean, our _powers_ were - to get rid of the aliens. It's our instinct, isn't it? We're going to have to fight them eventually. And we are going to get hurt; that's just bound to happen in fighting. There's never a way around it, you have to understand. But... well, what I'm trying to say is," Her words seemed to catch in her throat as she looked meekly down at the bubbly water, stirring her hand around. "I'm sorry, Ryou."

The boy blinked. Obviously, she was apologizing for her actions, for jeopordizing the safety of the girls. At least, that was what it sounded like. But in her voice Ryou heard tones built up and around with emotion, something that suggested there was something else she'd just gotten off her chest, something she'd been keeping buried for a long time. What, though? Well, if she wasn't going to tell him, Ryou wasn't going to bother figuring it out. If there was something she wanted him to know, she'd have to be more clear.

"I just don't want to lose any of you," He spoke so suddenly, quietly, that it made Kona jump in surprise. She hadn't expected a reply at all. "I've already lost so much, so many people that meant the world to me. I won't risk it. I'll risk my life for all of you, if I have to."

--

When Ichigo came back up from her pout in the basement, Yumi was still busy. Luckily, though, she didn't seem to have been fazed or ambushed by the appearence of the alien. In fact, the girl may not have noticed at all. That would have been for the best. Yumi was sometimes a rash girl; she'd probably tackle her or something and start a scene. Breathing a tiny sigh, the redhead looked up and blinked at seeing the once-occupied table emptied.

_...crap._

Her back stiffened and her eyes whirled around the room. Where was she? Where was Ari? The girl that had been sitting with her was gone, too, but Ichigo didn't care about her. She was probably just one of the alien's unsuspecting friends from school. What Ichigo was most worried about was the Ari had somehow slipped into the crowds, made her way further into the cafe, just waiting to make an attack. They couldn't afford any more surprises.

Her amber eyes fell over a figure who was hurriedly darting out the door. She caught what looked like a look of surprise and annoyance on the alien-girl's face as she disapeared behind the swinging entrance. With a glance at the table, she noted the cake hadn't been paid for. Her jaw clenched. What now? What if Ari was simply sneaking around the back? What if she went up to the roof, waited until they came out, and then bombarded them? She couldn't risk it. Ari was, and always would be, a threat, no matter the situation.

Ichigo took a deep breath. "Screw the lockdown," she hissed, and immediately made a run for the door, ignoring the sudden shout of protest behind her from a certain male.

As she flung herself out the door - running fast as possible so she couldn't be dragged back in at arm's length - Ichigo saw Ari hurrying down the path, looking left and right. What was she so irritated about? It seemed like she'd just lost her wallet or something. Ichigo didn't care. She just wanted to get rid of trouble. Reaching into a pocket of her apron, she pulled out her gold pendant, opening her mouth to command Ari to stop.

And then, a small blade whizzed inches past Ichigo's head.

She hadn't been hit, but her entire body seemed to freeze up. _What_? What had just happened? The throwing knife had landed securely in the dirt just a few feet away, gleaming in the sunlight. It hadn't come from ahead, where Ari was retreating and had just disapeared down the walkway. No, it came from the side.

Slowly, she turned her head, and her eyes struck wide.

"She has no interest in you," the cold voice explained, lips tightly pursed. Dark purple hair spilled across her shoulders in waves, a pair of dark blue eyes accenting her pale skin gazing at Ichigo blankly. _That was the girl at the cafe. _The one that had been sitting with Ari was now just a few metres away from her, holding more weapons in hand. Pointed ears protruded from the side of her head. _She was an alien. _"I'm the one you should be worried about..._ witch_."

The last word seethed from her mouth, and before Ichigo could react to the all-too-familiar accusation, a bow appeared in the purple haired alien's hands, a lethal looking arrow materializing seconds later. In one swift movement, she drew the string back, and fired, using Ichigo's forehead as a target.

She jumped out of the way, ducking and rolling across the ground. Ichigo had to cough to get the dust out of her throat, but knew she couldn't waste time. This was an alien. And she wanted a fight.

_Why?_

"Mew Mew Strawberry!" The pendant already in her hands, Ichigo hugged it tightly to her chest, feeling the magical energy erupting from it and swirling all around her. "Metamorpha-_sis_!"

Just as she was ready to summon her Strawberry Bell, she could hear arguing from behind the front door. Her cat ear twitched. Even the alien, who was about to draw another arrow for a shot, looked at the door with wide eyes. And... was that a _blush_ creeping onto her cheeks?

"..._him." _She whispered.

Ichigo ignored her, but knew it was Ryou. He'd probably seen her running out, and wasn't too happy about it. What could she do? If he came out now, he'd probably try to face the alien himself. Ichigo couldn't put him in danger, even if he was a jerk. Besides, the customers would see, and it would send them into a riot. They didn't need that. They didn't need any of that.

Her eyes flashed up to the roof of the cafe just seconds before the door flung open. Ichigo bounded off her feet and clung to the side of the wall, managing to dig her fingers into the cracks between the building material of the cafe. _Follow me_, she pleaded silently, grunting as she tried to clamber up the wall of the cafe, _Follow me!_

"Are you afraid?" Ichigo shivered at the darkness of the voice, the low pitch it was in, how creepy it sounded. But she was being followed. All the more reason to scamper up more quickly, and she heard the whoosh of air as the alien tried to tackle her off the wall.

"Nya!" Ichigo cried, managing to yank herself up onto the roof just in time. Instead of crashing into the wall, the alien skillfully twisted her body around to propel herself off it, landing on the roof neatly infront of Ichigo, bow held nimbly in hand. The catgirl just stared as she caught her breath, and could hear the commotion below. Ryou and the others wouldn't see them from up here. As long as she could get the alien to _stay _up here...

_I'm sorry, Ryou..._

"What do you want?" The cat girl snapped, a harsh wind suddenly blowing along the rooftop. She shivered. The alien seemed completely calm, blank faced, emotionless. Her pale lips curved into a morbid smile.

"I want you _dead," _she said bluntly, raising her bow again. Ichigo's eyes widened, and as she scrambled to her feet, her strawberry bell appeared in her hand. Why did they all seem to be out to get her? What had she done? Why did both Ari and this alien call her '_witch_'? Did this one have long-buried feelings for Kishu, too?

_What is it I did to make them see me as evil?_

"Ribbon Strawberry_ Su_-"

The air whizzed past her, making her freeze on the spot. She felt the skin on her arm split, blood hesitating before surfacing into view. An arrow had just barely missed her, nicking her on the arm. It looked only like a cut, but Ichigo felt a sudden flash of pain surge through her. She gasped, and clutched at her arm. It was like Ari's fire. Just... _worse._

"Poison," the purple haired enemy said quietly, examining another arrow in her hand, "what a wonderful thing. Just a little bit, and it can eat you alive. Spreading through your blood, causing you as much pain as humanly possible..." She ran her finger tips over the tip of the arrow, and then drew it back in the bow again solemnly. "It can strike down the most powerful enemies from the inside."

Should Ichigo have been afraid? Maybe she already was. But giving in to fear now would only result in getting more poison shot into her, she knew. Trying her best to ignore the pain, she retreated across the roof, getting just out of range of the arrow. "Who are you? Why are you doing this?" She called out across to the alien, her voice carrying away on the wind. In response, she lowered her bow for a minute, hair whisking across her face.

"You're a witch," she repeated icily, causing Ichigo to flinch. Then, she noticed the alien's eyes shifting down to the ground, where Ryou was, calling something, looking around frantically. "Name, Shirogane Ryou. Age, 16. Place of residence and employment, Cafe Mew Mew," she recited, almost as if she were ready from a telephone book, "A closed off boy, with his walls up to the rest of the world. Afraid to let anyone in. Not _wanting _to let anyone in. And yet," her blue eyes shifted back to Ichigo again, causing the catgirl to shudder, "somehow you broke in instantly. What is that but witchcraft? To break the unbreakable, to summon the buried," Now she seemed intent on firing at Ichigo again, for her hands tightened around her weapons. "I am Marzipan." She pulled back. "And I am here to free him from your hold."

Oh, _great_. First Kishu - and that had been ridiculous enough! And now, if Ichigo understood, she was being accused of bewitching Ryou. _Ridiculous_! Of course, she didn't have time to criticise or argue - she just jumped out of the way, applying pressure to her arm to keep the blood from spilling. Or, wait - did she want to flood the poison out? What was she supposed to do? She was beginning to feel dizzy, either because of the poison or confusion. She hoped the latter. Puzzlement was always a bit better than fatal-poison-in-the-system.

"_Marzipan_!" She called out her name, holding her bell out in defense. Ichigo still had to jump to dodge another hit. But now, as if hearing her name had some strange effect, Marzipan didn't move any more. She just stared. Gasping for breath, Ichigo swallowed, a pleading look on her face.

"You... you're with Ari and Hanajima, aren't you?"

The alien said nothing.

"Were they the ones that told you?" Ichigo boldly took another step forward. "Were they the ones that told you I was a '_witch_'? That I'm the one who's creating misery for you?"

Again, there was silence. But still, Marzipan didn't move, her dark calculating eyes rested on Ichigo. It felt almost as if she were being looked into, judged, decided whether she was an enemy or a friend... Ichigo would try for the 'friend'. She'd_ try_.

"I haven't done anything, Marzipan," Ichigo said softly, putting a hand to her heart to show sincerity. Still, the alien looked as if she were caught between two decisions. All Ichigo had to do was give her a little push her way. "I'm just a normal girl. Yeah, I have _powers_, but I could never make anyone _fall in love with me_. It doesn't work like that. Please, you have to understand, I'm not your enemy."

Ichigo breathed, her pink eyes glimmering with a mixture of sadness and truth. "I haven't done anything to hurt you. I will never do anything to hurt you, either, if I don't have to."

She was finished. So she waited. Cat girl and alien, locking stares, trying to read eachother's expressions without much luck. Just when it seemed Marzipan considered her something other than a foe, the wind picked up, and the alien's eyes narrowed maliciously.

"_Liar_." Yanking her bow back, the air around her began to ripple, drawing her form away until she was out of sight. Ichigo's shoulders slumped in defeat. She'd been so close... so...

Dizziness suddenly overwhelmed her again, and before her energy completely sapped itself from her, she stumbled over to the edge of the roof and jumped off with a cat's grace. Once her feet came into contact with solid ground, her mew form fell away from her, leaving her as just normal Momomiya Ichigo. The world continued to spin all around her, swirling, meshing together, her eyes refusing to stay open.

"Ichigo?" She heard a familiar voice and managed to make out blonde head running towards her. "_Ichigo! _Baka-Strawberry!_ Where were you? _You weren't supposed to leave! Do you know how worried we all were?"

Ichigo just smiled. Blackness was closing in from the corners of her vision. Mustering just an ounce of strength, the battle-weakened girl looked up at Ryou in a daze.

"We... have a problem," she said quietly, and then collapsed into the darkness.

--

_Next Chapter:_

_With three enemies, the girls are in desperate need of the Dark Angel as their ally - permanently. But with her strong and seemingly unmoveable refusal, they've decided to rely on their own power to take down the aliens themselves. It's becoming a dire matter of life and death. In a will to survive, Ichigo still persists in the recruit of the misfit angel; but whether or not that will is enough is uncertain. All that is, is their mission - to search, and to destroy._


	18. Keep Alive

**xuri:** Hi precious readers. x3 Yes, updating has slowed down... significantly. I kind of decided it would be easier to keep up with. Sort of. x-x Plus, a lot has come up. I'll be leaving for a few days next week, and we won't be around much besides that 'cause of renovations, but I'll do my best. Hopefully this rate is still acceptable for you guys. Only eight chapters to go. ;3

Mew of Fire: Yeah, I do enjoy tormenting her. xD Ichigo's great. I hate her for being a ditz and choosing to love Masaya, but... I love her for being a ditz. x3 Explaining why I exploit that as much as I possibly can. She's fun to get in trouble, 'cause she's so prone to things like that. Hehe.

SamKo: Yes, I have had a lot of fun with Ryou during this series. xD Muchly. Mostly because he's my favourite. x3 -_pats Ryou plushie_- Yessums, Marzipan is muchly awesome. Unfortunately, I cannot take complete credit for her like I could Ari. Tragedy. T-T And, ha. You have no idea how _spot on _you are about the Pai and Marzipan thing. xD Just for different reasons than you think, hehe.

**EDIT:** Forgot to mention. There's a hidden kiss in this chapter. Those of you aware of my rabid fangirl obsessions should have a pretty good idea who it's between, but it's totally only implied based on the reactions of surrounding characters. ;3 -cackles-

**--**

**Blend (chapter eighteen)**

**..keep alive..**

"Uh...nn..."

Light came blaring in as Ichigo allowed her eyes to open_. ...dead? _Was her first thought, as she squinted against the brightness, _...Am I... dead?_

Her eyes adjusted within seconds, though, and Ichigo knew that wasn't the case. Before she could figure out where she_ was_, though, Ryou's face unblurred into her view, his face right up against hers.

"_W-wah_!" Ichigo screamed, practically jolting from the bed she had been laid on, her heart beating miles a minute from the shock. Then she made what sounded like a choking noise, before looking over at Ryou with an annoyed red face. "Shirogane, what are you _doing_? You scared me half to death!"

"Thought that would wake you up," he noted in satisfaction, pushing himself up from the chair he'd been seated on and walking over to where all the other girls were, gathered and staring at her with wide eyes. Sitting up in her bed and grumbling to herself, Ichigo noticed they were all looking at her funny, especially Kona, who looked a little dazed. _What's their problem...?_

"How... long was I out?" She questioned, and looked down at her arm. She was surprised to see it had been bandaged up.

"6 hours," Even though she'd intended to ask the girls, Ryou answered for her, "Really, Ichigo, it was only a little bit of poison. That was a bit of an overdramatic reaction, if you ask me."

"_Reaction_? I didn't _choose_ to be -- hey, wait, poison?" Her face going blank suddenly, Ichigo looked back at her arm. That's right - Marzipan's arrows had been poison-tipped, and she'd been hit. Once. Barely. She guessed she was lucky, though - would an alien be wielding weak poison?

"Th-thanks for getting it out," she managed, looking at Shirogane. He shrugged, and walked back over. Ichigo blinked. The boy stopped at her bedside, and stared at her in silence, before leaning over again.

"..You **_IDIOT_**!" He yelled, nearly sending her flying against the wall, "You know what would have happened if I wasn't out there? We had _five minutes_ to get that poison out of you! Idiot! Idiot! **_Idiot_**!"

"_OW!" _Ichigo screamed back, her hands over her ears, "Well, what was I supposed to do, _huh? _The alien _attacked_ me! Was I just supposed to stay in the cafe and wait for them to ambush us? Because, that would have been _sooo_ much better! _Thank you,_ Shirogane, for making the lockdown so we all got into this situation!"

"_Stop it!" _Roxi shrieked, halting the argument. All the girls looked irriated. "Okay, you know what? Ichigo disobeyed the lockdown. Ichigo got poisoned. But Ichigo kept an attack from happening. So what's the point of arguing about it _now_?" Pause. "That's right. There _isn't _one."

All the others nodded in firm agreement. Ryou seemed like he was about to protest, prosecute Ichigo a little more, but instead he kept his mouth shut and stood up straight, turning away from the group.

"Fine. I'll let it slide," his blue eyes shifted to glance at Ichigo, "if you tell me what you mean by '_alien attacked me'_?"

Ichigo stared at him. And it took a bit of self restrant and brain power to not blurt '_Who's the idiot now_?'. That's right, none of them had seen the alien. Sitting up straight, she swallowed and explained the situation about Marzipan, about her fight, about all that, and when she was finished they all were staring at her even more wide-eyed than before.

"There's a..." Kona looked pale in the face, _"...third _alien?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah."

Everyone was too stunned to say anything. Even repeating it made Ichigo feel funny, like a huge weight had been dropped onto her shoulders again.

"And she's with Ari and Hanajima?" This time it was Ryou who asked the question. Ichigo nodded again.

"So," Kikyo spoke up, her arms crossed her over chest, her face reflecting a look of stress, "Now we have_ two _problems: Misfit Mew girl, and Marzipan."

Ichigo's face fell. That's right - she'd completely forgotten about the Dark Angel. Now they _really _needed her on their side. Just taking on Ari and Hanajima was hard enough. Now there was a third... the odds were against them. Ichigo made a choking noise, burying her face in her hands.

"How are we supposed to take _all_ of them?" She said in a muffled voice, dragging her hand down her face enough to peer over at the others. "We're not strong enough. We were just barely getting by with Hanajima and Ari... but-"

Ryou cleared his throat, and the worried expression Ichigo carried instantly turned to a glare in his direction. "You have a point, Strawberry," he said slowly, taking her by surprise, "It seemed to me like they act more powerfully in groups. Hanajima's illusions enhanced Ari's physical attacks, and I'm sure it'll be more so with the third, whatever her strengths may be. Maybe that's what we need to be doing... splitting them apart."

Roxi, Yumi, Ichigo, Kikyo and Kona looked at Ryou in shock, eyes wide. "That would mean a small group of us going against each of them?" Roxi asked.

"But you were the one who wanted us to stick together!" Ichigo pointed out. Ryou nodded.

"I know. But it seems like our only option at this point," He folded his arms over his chest, "I have no problem with you working together to fight one alien, in small groups. It's just I don't like the idea of one of you going out to face all of them."

"Right. Like we're that stupid," Ichigo mumbled, swinging her legs over the bed and standing up. She was only a little dizzy. After-effects of the poison, she guessed.

Ignoring Ichigo's remark, Ryou held a hand up and started giving orders. There were no protests.

"Roxi, Yumi, you'll be in charge of Hanajima. She's the main one you want to draw away. If physical attacks aren't her speciality, you should be able to take her on alone as long as there isn't a fighter-specialist alien alongside her. Marzipan and Ari sound like they're more accustomed to physical attacks, so Ichigo, Kona and Kikyo can take them. Hopefully they won't be as in-tune to eachother as Ari and Hanajima have been. Under _no circumstances _are you to split up and have one mew take one alien. That's too risky. Understood?"

Everyone nodded and mumbled their responses. Ryou grimaced; not because of the girls, but because of the situation. He just hoped, for their sake, there were no more aliens. No more enemies to face...

_No more lives to endanger._

--

"So, we know the plan," Kikyo said in means of confirmation.

"Yeah." They said in unison. She repeated it anyway, as if she were the only one to take the situation seriously - but they were all very serious about it. How could they _not _be? Three aliens, one of which they didn't even know the basic fighting style of, could be anywhere. They were hoping they'd have the edge, them already planning to fight and all; but who was to say the _aliens_ didn't have anything up their sleeves?

"We stay together until they come out. Then, Yumi and Roxi divide Hanajima from the other two, assuming they're all there, and we three'll take Ari and Marzipan. Got it?"

Well, considering they already agreed to knowing the plan, they didn't even bother answering. There wasn't much of a point. Right now, they had to walk, to wait. This could take days, even Kikyo knew. They'd just have to wait the aliens out, and when they attacked... well, they had a plan.

"Time check?"

"3 and a half hours," Kona replied with a nod, checking her digital watch. Ichigo sighed. Ryou was making them work even _after_ their shift hours. How was that fair? Maybe they should ask for extra pay when it came to alien-extermination missions. He'd probably just spring them with something along the lines of _"You're supposed to save the world. Don't blame me if it crumbles because you have 'something better' to do."_ Ichigo fumed just at the thought.

"Obnoxious... arrogant... --!" Roxi nudged the mumbling Ichigo to stop her. The redhead frowned and looked up to apologize, but she saw a glint of metal in the distance. Obviously, the others hadn't noticed... but...z

"Wait," she said, but they all kept walking. Ichigo's amber eyes grew wide as the glint came closer, dodging side to side. No. They were - "Watch out!" Ichigo screamed, jumping forward and attempting to tackle the girls to the ground. Her arms span was really only big enough to pull Kona, but Kona's leg sprawled out and caught on Yumi, who grabbed Roxi, who shrieked and stumbled and brought Kikyo to the ground as well. So it had worked. Luckily.

A whirl of flaming daggers passed just above them.

Breathing heavily, Ichigo sat upright, her eyes widening. The girls turned to stare at her questioningly, but froze when they saw the pair of blue-fire daggers hovering just inches away, in attack position. Yumi shrieked.

_"G-ghost!"_

And there they materialized. All three of them - Ari, Hanajima, Marzipan. Ready to attack and everything. Should the girls have considered themselves lucky, that their search ended so early?

Ari had two flame engulfed knives. Hanajima was already on the verge of an illusion with her staff. Marzipan was idly fingering her bow, though it wasn't doubted she could draw an arrow within a split second, the way her attention seemed to flicker. They were fully armed, fully prepared.

And the girls hadn't even transformed yet.

"Don't tell me. You were out looking for trouble too?" Ari mused, tapping the flat end of her sai against her shoulder, the flame having no effect on her, "What a coincidence. We found you. You found us. Or was it only one way around?"

"Shut up!" Ichigo yelled, staggering to her feet as she fumbled around for her pendant. The other girls weren't so quick. And Roxi, especially, was stunned, her icy blue eyes wide with horror.

"You..." Her mouth seemed like it was too dry to spit out the right words, "You're that _customer_! T-the creepy one that ordered the chocolate cake and asked who Shirogane-senpai was!"

"You _met _her?" Ichigo cried, her mouth agape. Kikyo rolled her eyes as she managed to stand to her feet, holding a defensive glare. Did they lose their concentration so easily all the time?

"That's not very nice," Marzipan said quietly, narrowing her eyes. The girls froze. Her lips unmoving, she shifted the bow into her other hand, absently setting the arrow in the correct position. Ichigo was sure she could see it now - the poison coating the metal tip.

_Or... is the whole tip made of poison?_

Whatever the case - none of them wanted to find out first hand.

"Mew Mew Strawberry!" They were all together, all ready for this. Just because the aliens happened to appear earlier than expected didn't mean they couldn't still carry it out.

"Mew Mew Powder!"

"Mew Mew Framboise!"

"Mew Mew Cerise!"

"Mew Mew Kitsune!"

"Metamorpha-_sis!"_

All the lights seemed to mesh in with eachother, entangling in an exotic weave of bright and coloured light. It was almost enough to make Ari and the other two shield their eyes with their hands. Almost. It faded instantly, revealing all five of them in their sparkling glory.

"Ready?" Kikyo summoned her Fox Charm weapon, held it out, her voice booming. The girls nodded. They were ready. "_Go_!"

Of course, the aliens didn't understand _what_ Kikyo had just commanded to commence. All they saw was the five of them suddenly charging, and that was how a fight naturally began, right? They prepared themselves. Unfortunately, they had no tactic in mind; the aliens had strength. That was all they needed. But it would also give the others the advantage, even if they didn't yet know it.

"Raspberry_ Dazzle_!" Yumi jumped into the fray immediately, taking aim right for Hanajima. A swirl of sparklies seemed to engulf her, but Hanajima used to power of Illusion to dip to the side, and cause enough disturbance in her vision to make Yumi stumble. Roxi was on her tail right away, with her Cherry Burst attack. Again, it missed. But that wasn't their goal, not yet - and so far, from what goal they actually had, they'd succeeded. They were starting to force Hanajima back and away from the group.

"I see you've already met our gothic friend?" Ari taunted, flipping her hair haughtily over her shoulders, gripping the daggers in her hand. Marzipan didn't take this comment too kindly; her hand tightened, pulling the arrow back further and more firmly.

"Pleasure to make the acquaintance," Kikyo noted bitterly, holding the Charm out. "_Ribbon_! Kahidra _Blast_!"

Ari intercepted easily, diminishing the blow by using her dagger as a shield, flipping it around in her hand and jumping out of the way so Marzipan could take a shot. Kikyo was quick footed, as came with her Fox DNA. She flipped past it, pushing off her hands and landing squarely on her feet beside Ari, trying to knock her physically with the weapon. Ari ducked, and elbowed her in the gut.

Specks of blue light came flashing in as Kona swung her bell viciously, saying the proper words to summon forth the bursts and push Ari away. It was just quickly enough to spare Kikyo of any serious injury, though she had to take a moment to catch her breath. Kona and Ichigo seemed to have it covered. They didn't seem as concerned with hitting them, so much as driving them away from Hanajima.

The aliens hadn't even noticed what was going on...

"Blossom _Shine_!" Kona repeated, deliberately coming between Ari and Marzipan, making them both jump backwards by instinct. They had this. They had this _in their hands..._

"Messy today, are we?" Ari grinned, striking a battle stance as all three girls ran up to face them. "You'd better clean up, kittens. Or you'll be _punished_..."

--

Roxi and Yumi were having luck. As much luck as anyone could get fighting aliens, at least.

"Ribbon Cherry _Burst_!" Ribbons of red light wrapped themselves all around Hanajima, the force sending the alien back quite a bit without her even realizing it. She snarled, whipping her staff out before her.

"Careful where you step," she saw blandly, and both girls looked down in alarm to see she'd made them feel so much heavier. Roxi tried to remind herself it was only a feeling, not an actual fact, but the mind is a powerful thing... The ability to manipulate it was even more so. They'd had to be careful.

Wasting no time, the alien came zooming in, positioned as if she intended to bash their heads in with one swipe. Yumi screeched and used the weight on her feet to bend backwards as far as she could, dodging the blow. Roxi just allowed her body to fall completely, bracing herself for impact. They'd dodged it, but this was no good. Hanajima was pushing them back now, towards Ichigo and Ari and the others. She was pushing them the _wrong way_.

"Y-Yumi-chan!" Roxi managed, trying to push herself back up to her feet but finding the task difficult. Yumi knew what to do. Trying to imagine the weight off her feet, she started to run in the_ right _direction, swinging her small bell around almost tauntingly at Hanajima. And Hanajima bit, starting a poor chase, as Yumi could barely run at all. But it was at least something. That was their goal. And they were succeeding.

--

"Strawberry_ Check_!" Quick, simple attacks - that was all Ichigo needed. This one was actually aimed at Marzipan to prevent Kikyo from being hit by another arrow. Ichigo leapt forward at the alien and knocked the bow from her hand, holding her bell out as if she intended to attack. Marzipan leapt back in alarm, drawing out a handful of throwing knives.

"Nuisance," she deemed simply, and with a casual jerk of her arm flung the weapons at her. Ichigo's eyes widened and she hit the ground, having to perform a series of dodges and ducks to avoid being hit. Bent over and gasping, she stopped in surprise when she saw a small trickle of blood running down her leg. She hadn't even felt the hit...

There was a battle cry from the side, and all turned to see Kikyo's eyes as if alight by flame. Fox Charm was outstretched in her hands, and she called out the proper words to unleash a powerful blast of energy, when knocked Marzipan clear over with a faint cry. The alien now law sprawled on the ground - not physically wounded as much as she looked pale and like energy had been ripped from her body - panting for air. Ichigo noticed her blue eyes seemed almost hollow.

_She... she can't take a hit..._

Ari cursed at this development, glaring down at Marzipan. "You useless _creep_! Why did I ever let Hanajima talk me into finding you again?" She hissed, digging her heel into the dirt before clasping her own daggers and disapearing into the air.

Ichigo stiffened. She wasn't gone. She was all around... but... where? The girl nervously clutched at her heart shaped bell, pink eyes flicking anxiously from side to side. She'd be the one to be attacked, she knew it. Ari wanted her hurt... she wanted her _dead_...

An ear piercing scream filled the air instantly, and Ichigo jumped in place, spinning around. Kona was face down in the grass, her arms pinned to the side, Ari holding her down easily. Rage seemed to burn in the alien's eyes. Even her mouth was expressionless, not curved in its usual smirk.

"Neko _scum_," she seethed, tightening her hold around Kona's neck as if intending to choke her, "You're all worthless. Get out now, stay away from our plans! You've _destroyed our lives_!" She screamed, the material of her gloves being strained, Kona struggled, but was running out of air. Ichigo could only watch in horror.

"No.." She felt frozen to the spot. "Not... not them... they haven't done anything!"

"_Kahidra!" _Kikyo was right in there, trying to knock Ari off. Just as she lowered her weapon to blast in Ari's face, something caught strongly on to her ankle and cut it, making her crumple weakly to the ground. Marzipan grimaced, keeping a death grip on her leg so the kitsune-girl couldn't go any closer to Ari's new target. _Victim_.

"Stop!" Ichigo screamed, but no one seemed to listen. Why would they? They never had. All they wanted was for them to suffer...

Kona's muscles visibly relaxed and she went limp under Ari's hold, the alien's face burning intensely with raging glee. She was getting rid of one of the obstacles. It would be easier now, easier...

"_STOP_!" Ichigo, unfrozen, bounded forward onto Ari's back, but was easily pushed off. Tears in her eyes, Ichigo got back up, and threw her body weight at Ari enough to at least set her off balance. From there, the cat girl was able to completely knock the alien off, terminating the choke hold she had on Kona. Ichigo couldn't even look back. She had to get Ari away... she _had_ to.

She couldn't see Kona from where she was, but she heard a sputtering noise, signalling she had started breathing again. There was an outcry, a crashing sound, as Kikyo supposedly managed to get Marzipan off to help Kona. Ichigo was relieved. But she couldn't look back. She couldn't let go of her, let Ari out of her sight... She wouldn't let her hurt any more of her friends.

Ichigo remembered what Ryou had said. _Under no circumstances do you split up... _He wouldn't understand. This was a dire situation. Kikyo and Kona were both weakened, but they could easily take Marzipan together, and Ichigo hadn't been touched. Marzipan seemed less in tune to fighting that Ari was, and Ari, as of now, was a threat.

This would be the second time she disobeyed her blonde employer's rules.

"Huah!" Springing off her feet, Ichigo started to run, intending that Ari follow her. However, hearing no footsteps behind her, she turned around in horror and saw Ari watching the battle with pursed lips. The look surfacing on her face - the _where on earth is Hanajima_ look - made Ichigo realize she _had_ to get Ari's attention. Distract her. Lead her away. She'd worry about the rest later.

"Ribbon Strawberry _Check_!" Gripping her bell tightly, she aimed to just barely miss a shot at Ari's head. That look disappeared, and golden eyes settled on her before bursting with anger. Ari charged at her. Just like Ichigo wanted.

Feeling afraid all the same, she spun around on her heel and took off as fast as she could. As soon as she heard the light and speedy footsteps behind her, she tapped into her cat genes to bound off even more quickly, the bell on her tail ringing furiously.

"Ichigo-neko!" Ichigo fell her body pulling to the ground, the voice right up against her ear. _Oh no. Oh no... _Her body hit solid dirt and she coughed, unable to move as as realized there was a heel centered right on her back. The cat girl winced, just barely, knowing if she moved the alien might well crush her spine.

"Trying to be brave, kitten?" Ari hissed slyly, giving a taunting tap on the back with her foot. "I have this theory, see, that _bravery_ killed the cat... want to test it, neko?"

--

"Uwahhh!"

Yumi screamed as she was thrown back through the air by a blow to the gut, landing on the ground with an _'oomph' _before tumbling a few paces, grip relaxing on her weapon.

"Yumi-chan!" Roxi cried in despair, and felt the wind picking up around her. Before she could react, a staff knocked her hard against the side as well, practically throwing her to the ground like a rag doll. Groaning, Roxi rolled onto her back, gasping for air. When she opened her eyes, she saw a smug face hovering above her.

"Hello," she said softly, and a wretched grin formed itself, Hanajima's other features melting into a picture of horror; slit red eyes, wide mouth, sharp teeth, pale and inhuman looking. Roxi screamed, rolling out of the way hastily and trying to scramble out of her grasp. Hanajima let her go, surprisingly. She wasn't at all lost in confidence. Two small girls, unable to fight at all...

She grinned. It didn't even matter that Ari and Marzipan were gone now - she'd figured it out a while ago, though she couldn't be sure why. Did it matter? She was perfectly fine on her own. Marzipan, on the other hand... Hanajima couldn't even guess how Marzipan was faring. Ari was obvious enough, but neither of them had been able to exactly fathom how powerful Marzipan was. She always seemed to hold back. Or, maybe she was just weak, underneath it all.

"Ribbon!" Hanajima snapped idly back to attention, seeing the panda-girl feebly holding her wand out, gathering energy at her hand. "Cherry... _Burs_---!" The alien let her get through a few syllables. Then, she unleashed a wave of thought, of voice, onto the girl, stopping her in mid sentence. Roxi stared back at her in horror, then made a choking noise, her wand clattering to the ground. "S..stop..." She tried, burying her face in trembling hands. Hanajima sighed. The horse-girl was still lying down, struggling just to stay consious.

"This is too easy..." She mumbled and shook her head, lifting her staff, "I'll end this soon. For your sake, kittens."

--

Ichigo found the less she breathed, the less it hurt. The less she could feel Ari's foot digging into her back, that is. That way, she could try and figure out a way to get out of this situation. Find a way to keep Ari away from the others, and at the same time, keep alive...

_Keep alive..._

"So," she let out a cry as the foot was stomped onto her back. Was that a _crack_? Ichigo hoped she hadn't just heard a _crack. _Her body went numb, for a second, and then returned to normal as Ari lifted her foot. Instead of stepping away, giving Ichigo the chance to escape - why would she do something like that? - she rammed her heel hard into her side. Ichigo whimpered, doubling over and clutching at her stomach dizzily. It hurt...

"Still so brave?" Oh, she wanted to _enjoy_ this. Even Ichigo could tell. As Ari stepped in for another kick, or slice, or something, Ichigo hissed and crawl-bounded out of the way, crumpling back to the ground again right after. She felt like she'd been badly bruised, like bones in her body had suddenly gone missing. On top of that, it was becoming hard to breath.

_This isn't good..._

Groaning, she tried to curl into a little ball, breathing heavily, her cat ears drooping. She was out of energy. Even with the Strawberry Bell in her hand, she felt useless. _Useless..._

But that wouldn't work. She couldn't just give in - what about Kikyo and Kona? Roxi and Yumi? Ryou, Keiichiro, even the Dark Angel? What about all of them? It was her duty to protect them. Or, at least try. She wasn't dead. She wasn't unconsious. So she could still_ try_.

And she would.

"Ari..."

The alien looked only faintly surprised to see the pink-clad catgirl clambering to her feet, clutching the heart shaped weapon in her hand. Even so, Ichigo looked like she was hanging by a thread. Ari smirked. _Snap it,_ she thought to herself, eyes brimming with battle glee, _Snap it, and watch her fall..._

"Ri...ribbon...!" It was so hard to form words. The world was caving in all around her, it seemed. And yet Ari didn't charge. She was mocking her, taunting her. Waiting for the peak of hope to strike her down. But that didn't stop Ichigo. She had people to protect.

"Strawberry --- _Supri---!" _The wind was knocked out of her, by her own exhaustion, and she stumbled, before falling forward. From her cloudy vision, she could see a streak of blue storming towards her, glints of copper swinging back, ready to strike.

That was it. She felt her consiousness slipping away. That was it. _That was it_...

"Move!" An unfamiliar voice screamed. No, wait. It _was_ familiar... wasn't it? Not like Ichigo could obey. She'd lost all consious control of her body. She just kept falling, falling, waiting to hit ground or feel the sharp blade of Ari's sais pierce through her skin, whichever came first.

She was halted. Not gently, though; her body collided with some form of support, that kept her semi steady and from falling. She didn't know what it was. Not the ground, not a knife; as she opened her eyes, though, she saw an arm. A gloved hand, twisted around, clutching the hilt of a sword. Ichigo's eyes widened.

They trailed up the sword, and she saw the blade interlocking with a pair of bronze sais.

It was that girl. It was the Dark Angel.

"Could you," the girl grunted, tightening the hold on her sword. Ichigo realized what was holding her up now - she'd fallen onto the girl's arm, and was nearly draped across it, "get off so I can fight?"

Ichigo could much less answer, than actually move and obey. But just looking into the blue depths of the girl's eyes conviced her otherwise. Life seemed to come back in her body and she inhaled, staggering back, out of the way, before allowing her body to fall to the ground in sitting position. Watching, and gasping for air, she struggled to stay conscious.

_Kona... Kikyo..._

As she felt some leftover pain in her gut, Ichigo leaned over, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to clench out the pain. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up, to see the swordsman standing over her, smiling kindly.

"Ichigo." Her eyes widened, he simply shook his head. "Don't try to move. Where are the others?"

Ichigo heard a clash of metal as the angel girl succeeded in pushing Ari back with her weapons, even more following it as a battle ensued. The others...? She felt her stomach give a lurch and Ichigo nearly doubled over coughing, the only thing holding her up the hand supporting her by the shoulder.

"Kona and Kikyo..." Covering her head with her mouth as if that would stop the choking, Ichigo looked up at him pleadingly, "Please, please, you have to help them. They... I don't - " She cut off coughing again, curling up tightly, trying to make the pain of the wounds face away. He nodded and lifted his hand, placing it on the hilt of his undrawn sword.

"Brooke." There was another outcry as the girl managed to push Ari back even further, knocking the alien down so she could catch her breath herself. Ichigo's eyes widened as she reacted to the name, turning her head only slightly to the swordsman. She looked less than pleased, a '_what do you want_?' look on her face. Still he stared back at her solemnly. "I'm going. Can you handle this on your own?"

"Yes, I can," She growled, narrowing her eyes at the alien who was beginning to stand back up on her feet. Accepting that as the best answer she could give, the boy slipped past, in the direction Ichigo hoped Kona and Kikyo were right now. She needed to know they were okay, that her chase hadn't been in vain...

Inhaling shakily, Ichigo managed to stay sitting, watching the battle warily from where she sat. As she focused on keeping steady breathing, trying to ignore all the pain, a word rang through her head. _Brooke_. She looked at the girl fighting, with her shining sword and single black wing, with an icy, hard look in her eyes. _Brooke._ The way she moved, swiftly, and almost staggeringly, as if she were carrying some heavy burden. Ichigo exhaled.

_Brooke._

--

"Kyah!" Kona screamed, leaping just out of an arrow's way. Marzipan stood before her, breathing heavily, looking as if she'd already been severely wounded and exhausted. And yet she was still up on her feet, fighting, so much that Kona could barely keep up. Especially since her neck felt like it was badly bruised, and breathing was hard, and Kikyo was having just as tough a time.

Down on one knee to keep herself steady, Kikyo head her charm weapon out, pointed right at Marzipan, whose attention was still fixed on Kona. "Kahidra _Blast_!" She called, and tightened her grip, the great burst heading straight for Marzipan. Kikyo saw the alien turn her head drowsily, and then there was a bright flash of impact. She had to shield her arm over her eyes, and when Kikyo could see clearly again, Marzipan was right infront of her.

Her breath caught in her throat. "What?" Before she could react any further than that, a knife was thrown right at her, and she had to dive out of the way, hitting the ground hard with a grunt. Looking up quickly, she saw the the violet haired alien was just overhead, going in for a direct hit. Kikyo cried out and swung her Charm around to intercept the blow, managing to hold Marzipan off, though barely. Both were weakened. Kikyo just couldn't tell if the alien was holding back, or...

"Get off!" In a stunning moment, Kikyo saw a flash of pink and black as Marzipan was shoved to the ground by a panting Kona, who collapsed into a heap soon after. None of them were faring too well. And Marzipan was supposedly the superior one, with alien abilities, but she appeared to be just as wounded. On the other hand, she had poisonous weapons...

"You're..." both girls heard the shaky gasps of the alien as she pushed herself up off the ground, looking at them with glazed eyes. Kona couldn't move - her entire body felt limp, and her head felt fuzzy. Kikyo also felt like she was pinned to the ground by an invisible force even still. "...annoying," Marzipan finished in a breath, slowly and shakily drawing out her bow and notching one of her arrows, aiming straight for Kona's heart. She was helpless to move, only stare in horror, in fear, her mind racing but her body staying perfectly still.

"Goodbye," Marzipan said wispily, seriously, pulling the arrow back as far as it would go before swiftly releasing her grip on the string.

"_Honoo Kousa_!"

It was too fast of a sequence for even Kona to keep up on. Marzipan holding the arrow; Marzipan releasing the arrow; the arrow flying right at her, and then, just like that, disapearing in a column of flame. She felt the heat almost right against her face, but didn't even blink. It all happened in less than a second. And when she looked toward the source of the voice, the fire bringer, she wondered why she was surprised to see the Elemental Swordsman.

The flame cleared up almost instantly, leaving a calmly infuriated Marzipan standing there, still frozen with her arm stretched out, bow in hand, the invisible arrow no longer even ashes. Quick footsteps approached, and her head slowly creaked around to see the black haired boy standing there, two swords held outstretched, glowing with the remainder of flame.

Marzipan's jaw visibly tightened and she instintively took a step back. It was only now that Kona and Kikyo seemed to regain their senses; the latter climbed to her feet, while all Kona was able to do was sit up and catch her breath. Marzipan didn't even see them. Her dark blue eyes were focused, almost in fear, on the boy.

"You _won't _hurt them," he said in a warning tone, almost glowering in the alien's direction. Marzipan visibly flinched. The swordsman sheathed one sword quietly, still holding the other out. His eyes narrowed. "Your actions will become as unforgiveable as the others."

Marzipan took another quick step backwards, though the heel of her stiletto leaned inwards, nearly causing her to lose her balance. She held her bow out defensively, but the boy seemed completely unaffected as he lifted his blade, levelling the tip with Marzipan.

"_Soyokaze Ken_!" The wind suddenly picked up viciously, and from the angle Kona was standing, it looked to her like the sword was _gathering _air all around it. Marzipan looked like she wanted to run, but stayed right where she was, watching, wide-eyed, her breathing steadily increasing. Then, the swordsman, with one swift movement of the arm, drew the blade back and thrust it forward, sending a flurry of winds in the alien's direction. Kona and Kikyo were well out of the way, but it hit Marzipan almost square in the chest, sending her back quite a few paces. As she struggled to stay standing against the pressing winds, she looked to be in a great deal of pain, like a paper doll ready to be swept away in the breeze. Her skirt, sleeves and hair where whipping around uncontrollably, giving any indication to the amount of pressure being put on her. Finally, Marzipan just shut her eyes and relaxed, letting her body fade from sight and away from the winds.

He stood, warily, watching carefully. Then, when it seemed she was truly gone, he slowly lowered his sword and sheathed it once more, taking a few steps back and turning.

"W-wait," He paused, glancing back to see Kona up on her feet, holding her Bell in a relaxed and lowered position. Her chest was moving a great deal, showing she was breathing deeply, and struggling to do so. He waited as she struggled to speak. Lifting her head, the panther-fused girl swallowed, and then said, "...thank you."

He smiled softly in return. Turning again, he broke into a run, heading towards a different direction, leaving the two girls alone. But they were safe now.

Kona just stared after him, an unreadable expression on her face. Then Kikyo stepped beside her, and glanced sideways at her. "Let's go find Ichigo. She ran off with Ari, I think."

Kona nodded. "Right," They both headed off then, toward where Ichigo had ran.

Marzipan was out of the way. But Ari... both of them had seen how fierce_ Ari _could get.

--

"Cherry _Burst!"_

"Raspberry _Dazzle_!"

In a flurry of light, Roxi and Yumi combined their attacks, trying to throw Hanajima off balance. The alien was tricky enough, though; the power of illusion was not one to be taken lightly. She could move where she appeared to be, even where the attack appeared to be, within seconds; it was hard to attack something when you didn't know whether or not it was really there. That shouldn't have mattered - that wasn't the goal. Roxi and Yumi had succeeded in that - they'd driven Hanajima away. And now what? It was becoming hard to just stay standing... would anyone come to help?

"You can't trick me, kittens," She said solemnly, and held her staff out. The girls stiffened. They could feel the world around them changing, morphing to her advantage, "I'm the master of tricks. Right before your eyes..."

Suddenly, there was a flash of white and black, and Hanajima nearly lost grip of her staff, and fell to the ground. The Swordsman landed nimbly after her, and she was back on her feet in a second.

"You!" She hissed, swinging her staff in an arch, "You filthy_ meddler_!"

There was a loud clang as sword and staff intercepted, locked in battle. Roxi and Yumi stared in awe, as if trying to figure out what had just happened, when the swordsman turned to them, a lot of strain on his face.

"Leave, I can take care of her," his response only provoked a cry of rage from the illusions alien for being referred to as a simple opponent, "Ichigo needs you both. _Go_!"

It took a second for it to sink in, obviously, but once it did, Roxi nodded, and grabbed Yumi by the arm, turning to go. Yumi was the one who started running, though, at such a fast speed that _Roxi _had to hold on. He could hold this alien off, he knew. As long as he was careful, he'd be fine.

So long as the others were.

--

"Ribbon Mitsukai _Ken_!" The black haired girl unleashed a cry, her sword emitting a dark and dangerous glow as she swiped at Ari. The alien used both daggers to block, but the aura obviously startled her, made her falter. That wasn't enough, though. Not even close.

"You're _nothing!" _She screamed, her daggers bursting into blue flame. This mixed with the aura created a devastating explosion, throwing grey coloured smoke all around, clouding the angel's vision. The girl winced and took a step backwards. She couldn't see. She couldn't see a thing.

"_Got you_!" Before it could clear up, the blue haired alien burst through the smoke, swinging her daggers at her from behind. She couldn't even react --

"Ribbon Strawberry _Surprise_!" A bright pink light sent Ari flying back just as her blades grazed against the angel's back, doing no more damage than a small trickle of blood. Getting up quickly, the angry alien saw Ichigo up on her feet again, gasping for air, clutching her bell. She looked angry. They both did. The Dark Angel recovered quickly as the smoke faded, and she held her blade out at the alien.

Ari gritted her teeth. This was _far_ from over.

"That's it!" She cried, charging forward with flame-ridden sais, "You're both done!"

"No way! Cherry _Burst!" _A flash of red light came at her, but Ari dodged easily. Her target was Ichigo. Ichigo.

_"Ichigo_!" Ari jumped into the air, moving swiftly, raising her dagger to strike quickly. A fresh blast to the side knocked the alien clear out of the path, Kikyo standing off with her Fox Charm held out.

"You guys..." Ichigo breathed, looking around. Kikyo. Kona. Yumi. Roxi. They'd all come. They were all fine. Maybe a little wounded, but alive. On their feet. She smiled, and then turned to Ari, who was struggling to her feet.

"Ari! This has gone on long enough!" She pointed, and then, unable to help herself, grinned. Pulling her hands back, "For the future of the earth, we serve, _nya_!" she struck a pose. This only served to further infuriate the alien.

"You're _mocking_ me!" She barked.

"Go away, Ari," Kona said bluntly. The alien winced. "You're outnumbered. Badly."

Her throat muscles seemed to constrict upon this realization. Five - no, _six_ - mews standing against her, ready to fight. Hanajima wasn't even here. And neither was Marzipan, the useless thing. Still, she stood her ground, too confident to back down. No matter the odds.

"Fine! We'll take you down ourselves, then," Ichigo said boldly, holding her bell out. The others did the same with their weapons.

"Ribbon -"

"_Tsch_," Ari just looked disgusted, annoyed. That replaced the look of surrender, Ichigo supposed. Turning her head in irritation, Ari simply glared at them, "Another day. Try to stay alive until then." And she was gone, just like the others.

Right away, the angel sheathed her sword and headed off swiftly in the other direction without a word. Ichigo opened her mouth, as if to try and stop her, but felt Kikyo's hand grip her firmly by the shoulder, halting her.

"Leave her," Ichigo turned towards her questioningly, but Kikyo just shook her head, "She came here with him. That swordsman. Let her make sure he's alright."

Ichigo paused for a moment, and then nodded. Looking around at everyone, she rested a hand on her own head, detransforming in a flash of blue. Turning to the others with a smile, she said, "Come on. Let's go back now. I'm exhausted..."

--

Ryou was sitting at one of the tables, holding a water bottle idly in his hands. Keiichiro had come out several times, asking if he was alright, if he needed anything - of course, being Ryou, he didn't. He just waited. Almost anxiously. When would they be back? It had already been several hours; every minute that ticked by indicated a greater chance of injury. Of fatality. Of _loss._ But the two men at the cafe waited, unable to do anything otherwise.

After a few more minutes, the door swung open, and he sat upright. There they were. The '_super ladies'_. Alive.

"We're back!" Yumi chanted happily. Ryou managed a little smile.

"We managed to find out a bit about the Marzipan," Kona said, and Kikyo nodded in agreement.

Ryou took this as good news. However, Ichigo suddenly looked disturbed, like something was on her mind.

Roxi noticed this. "Ichigo-chan? What's wrong?"

Ryou glanced at her expectantly. Ichigo frowned, then looked up at him. "Shirogane..." she trailed off, and then inhaled,

"...Do you think we could check for reports of a missing person... '_Brooke_'?"

--

_Next Chapter:_

_Ichigo's been given a clue - a clue that could lead her and the girls to the ally they've been searching and hoping for. And everyone, especially Ryou, is alarmed when they learn the ugly truth of the Dark Angel's existance. But will knowing be enough? Is there a way to win the icy girl over, even with the aliens constantly on the prowl?_


	19. Convincing Darker Light

**xuri:** Haa, I'm sorry. xD This chapter was supposed to be out five days ago, but, um... my time to update was cut short before I left. It involved a newly renovated bathroom and a leaking ceiling, but, aside from that. x-x So, here ya go. Chapter nineteen. Seven more to go. Yay. xD And I think I did the most editting to this chapter. I added in an entire fight scene so a later discussion makes more sense and seems more... believable. x3

Mew of Fire: Oh, totally fun. xD And yeah, Kishu will play an important role in the three-chapter-finale. But that's all I'm going to say. ;3

SamKo: Like I said, not in the way that you think, but, eheh. :3 And about Brooke's name... Eheh, that's one of the problems with having people create characters for you. Their names don't always match with the intended nationality. At least I got to pick surnames to fix it up. xD I guess it doesn't really matter at this point, but, yeah. We're just going to pretend Brooke's parents decided to give her an American-ish name. x3 And Roxi too. And, wheee, I love Ryou and his water bottle. Ryou x Water Bottle forever. xDDD

Applecake: Wheee, thank you. xD I kind of suspect I scare people away with the large wordcount. They probably see the 100 000 plus words and go 'O-O'. xD Hehe. And I am totally happy with whatever length/frequency of review you are able to give me. Same with everyone. Gives me warm fuzzies. xD And yeaah, I kind of hoped that, by slowing down a bit in updating, I wouldn't be giving people heart attacks having to keep up with the craziness. I don't think being sued would be fun. x3 And yes, Ari is going to start becoming a lot more... maniacal. Especially in the three chapter finale. I can't wait. xD -cackles-

--

**Blend (chapter nineteen)**

**..convincing darker light..**

"Niwa Brooke," he said, "Age 16. Missing from the Tokyo district since October. Last whereabouts unknown, though she attended school the day of her disappearence." The picture on the screen was one of a half-smiling teenager, with gold hoop earrings and long black hair tied back, a pair of cool but gentle blue eyes. Ichigo swallowed. _That's her._

"Care to explain it again?" Ryou requested simply, sitting lazily at the computer. They were all down in the basement again. Ichigo stood in the center, her hands folded tightly and anxiously infront of her. Everyone was looking at her, asking her questions. It was making her nervous.

"Ano..." Shaking it off, she looked at Ryou seriously, "The swordsman boy, he called the angel girl _'Brooke'_. I'm sure. And I... think, anyways, that Kikyo had a point." Obviously Kikyo did not remember this 'point', because she looked at Ichigo questioningly. "She said that it was strange the only time we ever saw the Dark Angel was when she was transformed. So, I just thought... maybe... is it possible she can't turn _back_?"

Silence. Complete, and utter silence. The girls all looked as if the idea had just dawned on them, as if it would have explained _so_ many things. Why she was always transformed. Why she thought she was so 'different'._ Why she wouldn't come with them_.

However, this wasn't the big surprise to Ryou. Not first, at least. "'_Angel_?'" He asked, almost in disbelief. "Hold on...hold on, _angel?"_

"She..." Kona trailed off, trying to explain, "That's what she calls herself, 'Dark _Angel'. _I think she's fused with a dark bird or something, she only has one wing, and - "

"There are no birds," he said briskly, already facing his computer again, "with one wing."

"Ah?" Roxi raised an eyebrow. "Then... what _is _she?"

Ryou was obviously not pleased at this development, as he kept typing without reply. Ichigo frowned and stepped forward, trying to get him to look at her.

"Shirogane, are you _sure _you were the one that injected her?" She asked slowly but firmly, "I mean, if she's not really a mew, maybe she's something else --"

"No." His fingers stopped dead in their tracks, the screen blank as a result. He sighed, setting his head to rest in the palm of his hand as he glanced at Ichigo. "No, I was the one who injected her. She has the DNA from my files. Just not from project _Blend_..."

Again, there was a considerable amount of quiet. Then Ichigo tried again : "What project _was_ she fused with?" She asked carefully.

This only served to make Ryou looked more stressed. He closed his eyes, and then opened them again, staring calmly at the screen before him. "A while back - even before the first Mew Project - I was experimenting with different fusions. Mythical beings - pegasus, chimera, griffin... But they failed. You can't create DNA of something that does not exist."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Shirogane, was... was an angel one of those mythical beings?"

There was a pause. "Yes," he said finally, turning to face her, "Yes, it was. But when that failed, I'm sure I locked it on a file and stored it safely away. I don't understand how it got into Blend - it's not possible," He looked completely stressed now, "It must have gotten in by mistake. Since it was defectual, that would explain why she only has one wing, a black wing, and can't transform back." He closed his eyes even more tightly.

"So, Brooke," Ichigo said slowly, like it was still sinking in, "is fused with a defective angel, and can't turn human again?"

Ryou nodded. She inhaled, and then sighed.

"What are... we supposed to do?"

"I don't know," he shook his head, "But we can't really do anything if she's not _here,_ can we?"

"So we'll just have to convince her to come!" Yumi piped happily. Roxi smiled.

"Yeah. That's what we'll do."

--

"Uheh, thanks so much for taking me out, Aoyama-kun," Ichigo piped cheerfully, poking at her rice excitedly. A date with Masaya - always perfect!

The boy smiled at her fondly. "I'm just glad you could make it, Ichigo. I've missed you..."

A blush crossed her cheeks and she just smiled happily. "Are you really feeling better? I heard they kept you in the hospital an extra day."

"It was just to make sure," he said with a shrug, taking a sip of his soda, "But I'm fine now, I promise. And you're alright too?"

Ichigo nodded. "Of course. I just..." She paused, and turned to look down at her arm. It was a bit scratched up. She should have worn longer sleeves, she realized, and hastily moved to try and cover it up. Masaya just smiled, almost sadly.

"Ichigo... You should have told me there were aliens here."

Ichigo stopped and sighed. "I know... I just didn't see you much anyways, and... I didn't... want you to get involved..." She said quietly, fiddling with the skirt of her dress.

He nodded, setting his glass down. "I understand. I guess I couldn't really do much anyways..." he lowered his eyes to the table and shook his head, "I just like to think sometimes that I can protect you. I know I can't, not anymore. But, Ichigo, I'm worried about you..."

"Don't be!" She said in a hurry, leaning forward with wide eyes, "Aoyama-kun, please, don't worry about me. I told you I was okay, didn't I? Besides, I have all my friends fighting with me." She smiled. "I look out for them and they look out for me."

Masaya's worried look softened. "I'm glad. You deserve people like that, Ichigo." They both smiled at eachother before they started eating again, over more light hearted chat topics, until they were finished. Ichigo passed on the dessert.

"Huah, sorry, I've been around too many sweets lately at the cafe..." She sweatdropped and giggled, rubbing the back of her head. Masaya chuckled lightly as well.

"That's fine. I'll just have to treat you to that another day," pausing, he looked thoughtful, and then a smile crossed his face, "I know. I'll drop by the shop sometime, alright? To visit. If Shirogane-san lets you have a break, I could even buy you some ice cream."

"Really?" Ichigo's face lit up. Work had become such a hazardous, almost depressing place. But if Masaya was there... "That would be so great! Are you sure you have the time?"

By this point, Ichigo and him were up on their feet, heading over to pay the bill. As soon as she asked, the boy leaned over and gently brushed his lips against her cheek, making the girl's face go beet red instantly. Masaya smiled. "I always have time for you, Ichigo."

--

Ichigo was practically floating to the cafe. She'd been granted the day off work to hang out with Masaya - but Ryou still insisted the girls all go home together for safety. Sure enough, they were waiting there, looking gloomy after a long day of work. Ichigo didn't notice. She was practically beaming the whole way over, which got her nothing but a few very suspicious looks.

"What are_ you _so happy about?" Kikyo inquired, in an almost snappish tone.

Yumi grinned. "Ichigo just came back from a date with Mister Masaya, didn't ya, Ichigo?"

"Eh?" Ichigo blinked, her cheeks going red.

Roxi grinned, stepping forward immediately. Even Kona seemed intrigued. "Oh, yeah, that's right! How was it, Ichigo?"

"Did you kiss?"

"Are you going out again soon?"

"Did he compliment you on your dress?"

"Was --"

"Waitwait_wait_!" Ichigo waved her hands around frantically, trying to clear up the bombardment of questions. When she was sure they stopped, she looked over her hands, paused, and then smiled sheepishly. "Uhm... ever heard of privacy?"

A hand landed squarely on the top of her head. "It's not _privacy_ when its out in the open, Strawberry," Ichigo looked up in alarm to see Ryou standing behind her, one eye closed.

"Sh-sh-shirogane!"

"Ryou!" Kona blinked, looking puzzled, "What are you doing here?... I promise, I have it under control, Roxi's even got a flashlight tonight since it's been getting darker, and Kikyo has her cell phone, so we can contact you if anything --"

"Calm down, Kona," the scolding tone he used obviously stung the girl, but she knew she'd gotten a little carried away anyways. Even she knew, she'd been acting so childish and easily flustered since... well, since - "I just needed some fresh air. Might as well put some good use to it, right?"

Kona looked up at him, and then smiled. "Yeah. I guess."

"Does it get really cooped up there?" Yumi asked in concern as they started to walk, "Poor Ryou! Always in his little room, always alone...Oh! I have an idea! Why doesn't Kona move in with you? Then you can both be _happpyyy_!"

Kona's face turned red suddenly. "Ah, Yumi, I don't think that would work - "

"Oh? Really?" The girl blinked innocently, and then frowned, looking up at the sky thoughtfully, "What about Ichigo then?" She piped, "Then you and Ichigo could get along better instead of fighting all the time!" Now it was Ichigo's turn to go red in the face. Although, she didn't see a reason to be embarassed.

_Masaya and I... we're so happy. I shouldn't be flustered over childish comments like that anymore._

"Yeah, that'll work! And then in the Winter, you won't even be _cold_, 'cause---"

"Yumi-chan, I think that's enough," Roxi gave an exasperated sigh, giving the small girl a little shake by the shoulder. Kikyo couldn't help but smile, and Kona even laughed a little. Ryou wasn't really paying attention, though there was a little smirk on his face.

They were like a family, weren't they?

A bit of a dysfunctional, argumentive, super-power-gifted family, but a family, nonetheless.

--

"You _weakling!"_

A glass smashed against the floor. Ari's hand was covered in sand-like shards, her fists curled up on a counter as she fumed in anger. Little droplets of blood were forming on her knuckles from the impact, but she didn't care. She was in pure rage at this moment, and it seemed nothing could console it.

"You're..." Her teeth clenched as she glowered, golden eyes firey. In a chair, a few feet away, Marzipan sat, clad in a lazy black dress, her dark purple locks pulled back. There were bandages on her face, but new scratches and even a bruise that were results of Ari's anger. She just stared ahead, her deep blue eyes glazed. From the expression on her face, she might as well have been attending a funeral.

Ari made another growling noise from her throat, crushing the glass scattered on the floor with her heel. "..._pathetic_!" She screamed, and let her fist collide with the other alien's face. Marzipan's head moved to the side, and she took the blow without even flinching. Hanajima was simply sitting to the side, observing casually, like this was nothing new at all.

Rubbing the blood from her fist, Ari turned away and glared back at her. "You can't even handle a few blows, can you? A little nick, and you're down. It's disgusting..." her body was shaking violently as she stepped away, though it seemed she had relieved most of her stress. The blue haired alien starting walking away. "Useless. We shouldn't have brought you in in the first place." She hissed, turning back to Hanajima, who glanced up from the book she'd been reading.

"All you're doing is holding us up," Ari added, not even bothering to look at the other alien, "So you're staying here. We're going to send you back as soon as we can so you won't get in the way. Having you _die _on us would just be inconvenient."

Beckoning Hanajima to follow, Ari left the room, and they shut the door behind them. Footsteps lead down the hall until they disapeared, and all was silent. Marzipan was left sitting there, in complete quiet. In complete darkness.

--

"G'night,"

"Bye, Ichigo! Ryou!" Kona waved from her door before safely stepping inside, the two mentioned individuals standing at the sidewalk to make sure she got in safely. Of course, the chances of her getting attacked while stepping onto her porch were slim. In fact, Ichigo wasn't sure such a thing was possible. But Ryou insisted on being absolutely certain. They were in enough fights as it was - if they could prevent them, then, at any cost, they would. Even if it meant being on constant watch.

"You don't have to walk me home, you know," Ichigo said once Kona was inside, yawning and stretching and starting to walk off on her own. She felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder, keeping her in place.

"Oi." Spinning around to face Ryou, Ichigo frowned. He opened one eye lazily, cocking his head at her, with a completely relaxed expression. "I don't think you're trustworthy enough to wander off on your own."

"What?" Ichigo gaped at him, and then went red with anger. "Shirogane, I'm_ perfectly _--"

"Did I," he said calmly, removing his hand but keeping a firm glare on her, "or did I not tell you _not _to seperate from the group under any circumstances?"

"Eh?" Ichigo's eyes widened and she blinked. Oh, right - he was talking about the fight with the aliens earlier, wasn't he? Okay, so she'd gone off against his orders. But she looked angry anyways - what right did he have to treat her like such a child? "Yes, you did, but --"

"Baka," Ryou hissed, lowering his eyes at her. Before she could even retort, he turned away, "You're an idiot. How many times do I have to tell you to _be careful_!"

Ichigo huffed. "I can take care of myself! What's the point of having powers if you can't use them with your own judgement?"

"You've already _proven _to me you have bad judgement."

"_What? _I haven't gotten badly hurt, ever! And I've always helped the others if they have! I can handle it, you know, I'm not some kid! I know what I'm dealing with! I..."

She froze, trailing off as Ryou turned the other way, casting her a sad gaze. Ichigo felt the blood run from her face. _He's...?_

"I don't..." he said slowly, and sighed in frustration, turning away, "...I just don't want you hurt, Ichigo." His voice was quiet, almost even meek, as he swiftly walked away, leaving her alone. Like she'd wanted. Ichigo watched after him, her mouth still a bit open, before quickly closing it again.

_He's stubborn, is all,_ she told herself decisively, marching off down the sidewalk to her house. _Just stubborn_. Although... the redhead paused, only slightly, staring down at the cement below her footing. _He seemed almost... worried._

"Well, he has no reason to be!" Standing up straight, Ichigo puffed her chest out proudly, folding her arms and glaring at the sky, "I can take care of myself. He's just being a paranoid _mother-figure_. And he's doing a bad job of it. Who needs him, anyways?"

Gah, it was dark out. Ichigo only noticed this now, glancing up at the sky. Even the stars seemed a little dimmer than usual. She shivered. It would be nice to have some company on her way home. Not Ryou. ... Okay, _maybe_ Ryou. Only if he shut up and stopped looking at her funny. Otherwise, it was better to have no company at all.

Wrapping her arms around herself in a secure hug, she started walking again, slowly, quietly, like she was afraid any noise would put her in sudden danger. There was no one out, so she shouldn't worry so much. Or... should she worry _more_?

When there was the click-clack of footsteps from the distance, Ichigo nearly screamed, dropping to the ground all curled up with her hands over her face. When she felt nothing attack her, she peered out from between her fingers, swallowing nervously. Ichigo blinked. There was a shadow darting around, across the street, off in the distance. She saw it. And she suddenly felt terrified.

_A stalker? A robber? A murderer? A wanderer? A..._ She paused in her own train of thought. No, she knew who it was. From body shape alone, it was impossible to distinguish anything at that distance. But protruding from the back of the darting shadow was a curved shape, a wavering image.

A wing.

Without even thinking, Ichigo straightened up and started running towards it. Across the street, down the path, and into a more deserted business-district of town where she'd seen the shadow. She just kept running. She didn't even let her brain kick in, her common sense get a hold of her. She just ran.

"H-hey..." Of course, the shadow was only getting further and further away. Where was it going? Instantly picking up pace, at least as much as she could by that point, Ichigo bounded forward, trying to catch up. Inhaling, she shouted out, as if it would do some kind of good - "Wait!_ Wait_!

"Brooke, _wait_!"

That stopped her. Ichigo sighed in relief, and allowed herself to slow down as she caught up. The shadow turned to face her, revealing the form of angel Brooke, her dark hair tied up, her single wing folded neatly. Ichigo was right. But she did not look pleased _at all._

"What do you want?" She asked clearly, irritation striking in her voice. Ichigo winced. Recovering, though, the redhead curled her hand into a loose fist, holding it against her chest.

"Uhm... Brooke," she tested again, but the angel girl didn't look at all happy to hear her name being spoken. In fact, she simply looked... impatient. Ichigo took a deep breath, swallowed, and then stepped closer to her. "You're...we..."

Ichigo was unable to find the right words. Scowling, the impatient Brooke waited only a moment more before turning around, fully intending to leave. Ichigo got her courage back and grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to face her again.

She exhaled. "We know about you. We know why you can't be _you_!"

Brooke's eyes widened. But before she could even respond, there was a rustle in the trees.

"Rieh! _Rieh_!" Ichigo heard Masha's muffled cry from her back, and they both froze dead silent. The bushes moved once again, and then out shot a flurry of light. They knew what was coming, but they couldn't do a thing about it. _Aliens._

"Ah, what good luck!" Ari's golden eyes glinted as her lips curled up into a sly smile, "Ichigo-neko and angel brat are in the same place. Now we can get rid of both nuisances at once... how convenient!" She laughed tauntingly, and Hanajima appeared beside her. Ichigo waited, holding her arms defensively out infront of her. Nothing.

"Where is she?" She demanded, reaching with one hand for her pendant. Her eyes were darting around almost nervously. "Where's Marzipan?"

"Oho, you actually remember her?" Ari folded her arms over her chest irratatedly, "You shouldn't worry. She's not coming. She'll _never_ be coming. She wasn't a challenge at all, now, was she? So why do you care?" The alien held one of her knives an inch away from her own face, the blunt end resting on her nose, "You should focus on danger, neko, instead of passing distractions."

Ichigo's heart sank. What happened to Marzipan? She jumped to the worst conclusions first - torture? Her being sent back? _Death? _That wasn't fair. That wasn't fair at_ all_. Ari and Hanajima - they were their cold enemies, for sure. But Marzipan... Ichigo had seen a look on Marzipan's face, and she knew, she _knew_ she was just caught between false conceptions. If she could have learned to be persuasive enough in time, Ichigo was sure she could have gained Marzipan's trust, lessened one enemy and gained an ally. And now she was gone. _That's not fair...!_

"You're... you're _cold as ice! _Mew Mew Strawberry, Metamorpha-_sis_!" Transforming instantly, Mew Ichigo grabbed her Bell from a summoned veil of sparkles and jumped at Ari.

"You _meant_ to say_ hot as flame_!" Ari yelled in return, striking the catgirl's bell with her sais. The attack itself was weak, but the impact was aimed at such an angle that it sent the girl right off balance, having to catch herself on the ground by flipping to her feet in a very catlike manner.

Ari's lips twitched. "Is Ichigo-neko going to play the same games today?" she laughed, "I thought you'd have known by now, how old those games are. Tedious. But I have something new we can play today. How fun!"

Ichigo's breath caught in her throat and she stepped back, holding her bell out in such a manner it would act as a shield for her. Brooke didn't even have her sword out yet. She just stood there, tall, staring at Ari through cold blue eyes. The alien didn't seem to be in the mood for mental taunting.

No, both could see it clearly - she was ready for a _fight_.

"Ready, set, go!" She chanted with a grin and began a ritualistic looking attack. Instantly, she flipped the daggers in her hands so the blades pointed downwards. Ari crossed her arms and then uncrossed them as she lifted them above her head, the two metallic weapons clashing together and creating a blue spark. Instead of fading, the spark simply gathered at the tips of the weapons, glowing brighter and brighter with every passing second. It was frightening. Besides that, Ichigo saw a maniacal gleam in Ari's gold eyes, one that sent a shiver down her spine.

She was out for blood.

With the daggers raised above her head, a lethal energy began to gather around her, becoming stronger and stronger. Brooke could feel it. Even Ichigo became afraid, not knowing what to expect. Whatever it was, though... It would be _bad_.

Ari's eyes closed and her lips parted, inhaling a great deal of air before she unleashed a glass-shattering cry, "_Synthesis_!" As if it were a magical word, the spark erupted into a blue mass, thrashing about above Ari's head. Ichigo's eyes widened as she recognized it, and she felt her face paling

_That's..._

_That's the substance she trapped Roxi in!_

Crying out again, Ari tightened her grip on the daggers, seperating them by holding one out in front and keeping the other above her head. The effect it had on the substance was similar to ripping a piece of paper apart - instead of tearing, however, it just became aggrivated, and several tentacle like projections burst from the main body.

Her gold eyes opening half-lidded, Ari watched with exhausted amusement, "Doesn't it look like fun, neko?" her voice was soft, almost vulnerable. Then her mouth twisted into a full out grin, and she yanked her dagger backwards, fire in her eyes. "GO!"

Ichigo's body stiffened as the projections twisted together and shot at her in one fluid motion. She had to move. She had to get out of the way! _"No_!" Ichigo cried, trying to duck and roll to the side at the same time. The general blow missed her, as she felt only air rushing around her. Instead of hitting her dead on, though, it caught on her wrist, and tangled itself around, clamping on tightly.

"Eh!" Ichigo looked at her wrist with wide eyes, and then tried prying the tentacles off with her hands. They'd unattached themselves from the main mass, which was still above Ari's head, and they were now wrapped tightly around her lower arm, like a band she couldn't remove. She heard Ari laugh.

"Hah! It's no use, neko." She grinned. "My '_synthesis_' is more tricky this time..."

After staring at it for quite some time, Ichigo couldn't tell what it was doing to her. It didn't hurt. It had stopped moving. It was like a jelly-blue rope, wrapped around her wrist. Sure, it was tight, but that was it. She didn't feel lightheaded or anything. Figuring it was one of those things that would take a while to kick in, Ichigo wouldn't waste any time. Passing her bell to her next hand, she jumped up into the air.

"Ribbon Strawberry _Check_! Nya!" The last part came involuntarily, but it did the trick anyways. A burst of pink light shot at Ari, but did very little damage. She was already immune to that attack. Ichigo gritted her teeth, flipping back and landing squarely on her feet. It felt way easier this time. Her balance seemed more natural than usual, like her cat senses were finally kicking back in. _About time._

But Ari didn't look at all fazed. In fact, she looked delighted. "Well now. Isn't this a fun little game?" She mused to herself, and then grinned slyly, whipping out a flame covered dagger and aiming a spiral of flame right for Ichigo.

"Nya!" Again with the _'nya'. _She'd always said it, as a part of her transformation and such, but why had it suddenly become so frequent? Ichigo eased onto her hand swiftly, flipping her body around in a roundoff to avoid the flame. And still Ari was grinning maniacally. "You tell me to stop playing games. This is all the same thing over again, and its going to end the same way, too!" Ichigo yelled, and once more held her bell out.

"Ribbon --"

"Is that so?" Ari waited calmly, not moving a muscle. Ichigo gritted her teeth, feeling her energy gathering in the bell.

"Strawberry... _Sur_--!"

Suddenly her throat constricted tightly, stealing the breath from her. Ichigo stopped. An unusual pain ripped suddenly through her body, and faded just as instantly, but she was left with an ache, having to gasp for air. _What... what was that?_

She could see Ari grin. "Having fun yet?"

"Shut up!" Ichigo snapped in a gargled tone, and then ran forward right for Ari. Whatever was going on, she needed to end this fight so she could stop it. "..._Surprise_!" She cried out, the powerful attack bursting forward from the Bell. No sooner had she said the word than another jolt of pain went through her, this time making her gasp and sending her to her knees, clutching her throat which still felt like it was being crushed. From the corner of her eye, she could see Brooke standing calmly, silently battling an onslaught of Hanajima's illusions. She was so calm, like she could see through them, ignore the taunts. Hanajima didn't look happy. But Ari did.

"See the rules of this game?" She tapped her dagger against her chin, smiling, "They're simple -_ I win_. _You lose_."

"N...nya..." Ichigo struggled to say, and then froze. Again. _Again_. Her cat ears twitched and she struggled to breath, and then her eyes flickered over to the substance wrapped around her wrist. The synthesis. "This..." Her eyes widened as she breathed heavily, "What is this... doing?"

"You recognized it, didn't you?" Ari shrugged, looking up at the blob above her head with amusement, "My 'synthesis'. Your little panda friend just barely escaped, remember?" She started laughing, and held her arms out above her, "Well it's _baa-aack_!"

Ichigo stared in horror. It was the same. The same thing that had nearly forced Roxi to become her animal, a panda, to lose her human mind. And that very same thing was attached to her wrist, sucking something out of her and strengthening something else. "It's... it's turning me into a _cat_?" She breathed, and felt the pain again, having to double over clutching her stomach. Her balance felt more acute, and at the same time, all those cat mannerisms were kicking in again.

"No..._No_!" Trying to block out the pain, Ichigo pried at the band of Synthesis that was around her wrist, trying to pull it off. It had a death grip on her, refusing to let go. And every second that passed, she could feel her cat genes being enhanced, stronger and stronger. Soon...

"Ah! Nya!" Her senses were pin-sharp enough that she saw blue flame barelling at her before it could hit, and she bounced out of the way hurriedly. She was panicked now. Ichigo tried biting down on it, but all that managed to do was leave a sour taste in her mouth and make her teeth hurt. Teeth. They were getting sharper. Smaller. More cat like. Ichigo was beginning to feel dizzy.

"Well look at this!" Ari giggled happily, holding her dagger outright, "Dilemma dilemma for neko _dilemma_. Fight me, and you'll be taken over by a cat. Fight that, and you might lose your life before you _lose your mind_. What a fun game!"

What she said was true. It was impossible to do two things at once. Looking at the side, Ichigo saw Brooke standing tall, keeping a cold look on her face as Hanajima tried to bombard her with illusions of torment. They weren't working as they did on the others, but Ichigo realized now that wasn't the intent. She was being distracted, so Ari could play this sick little game without any interuptions.

Giving up on the Synthesis band for the time being, Ichigo knew she could solve at least half the problem by getting Ari away from her. She whipped her bell out infront of her, clutching it fiercely and summoning all her energy to the center. Ari just looked down at her casually, as if she weren't a threat. And she wasn't really - she was just now crossing the line between cat-fused-warrior-girl and harmless kitten. It wouldn't be too long now.

"Ribbon...!" Her eyes struck wide and she stumbled forward, but refused to give in to the overwhelming pain. She flashed back to the time when Roxi had been trapped in the same substance, thrashing around, screaming as she tried to fight off the pain. Ichigo wouldn't give in. She _wouldn't _give up. "...S-strawberry..." Ichigo clenched her teeth as she felt her jaw starting to change shape, causing an excruciating amount of resistance from her human body. Her vision was beginning to change as well - to a mixture of bright lights, all glaring at her, blinding her as she tried to adjust. Ari watched with amusement.

"Sur...s_urpr_..." Ichigo let out a glass shattering cry as her muscles stretched past the breaking point, her hands letting go in a spasm and letting the bell clatter to the ground. Her heart was beating abnormally fast, and she clutched at her chest, trying to force the pain away. "Ung... _Uaaaaahhh_!" She screamed again, tears spilling from her eyes. Ari was finished watching.

"I'll put you out of your misery, neko," she said with false sympathy, pushing off the air and flashing past the blob of Synthesis above her head, drawing a knife out in one swift movement. Ichigo couldn't even see her, much less move out of the way. She tried, but her legs gave out beneath her, sending her to the ground.

Something cool sliced up against her wrist, coming within a hair's width of her skin. Before she could realize what had happened, the tight grip the blue wrap had on her extinguished, falling to the ground in a lifeless heap. Her cheek resting against the cement, but her body unharmed over all, Ichigo caught her breath and looked up to see Brooke standing over her, traces of the substance on the tip of her sword. She could see, from the corner of her eye, Hanajima laying limp, having barely endured an attack of some sort.

_She...saved me again..._

Ari, missing one of her sais from a direct collision, scowled at the angel girl, tossing her single weapon to the opposite hand. "I guess warning you not to meddle will do no good," she said in a low voice, and wordlessly sent forth another wave of Synthesis. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Stop!" She couldn't even do anything - the tentacle latched firmly onto Brooke's arm. She seemed unfazed, however, and held her sword pointed at Ari.

"What effect can it have?" She whispered, narrowing her eyes, "I'm as_ mutated _as I possibly can be."

Ari only laughed in delight, dark blue hair bouncing as she shook her head vehemently. "I'm sorry to say, girly, that if you're looking for a pity party, there _isn't _one. What an interesting new obstacle to the game! I suppose if I can't expoit you to the wonders of _Synthesis, _I can always just cut you out of your miseries by force!"

In response, Brooke only scowled, planting her foot on the ground, twisting her arms so her sword was angled directly to the alien. She left the thick rope of blue gel to sit uselessly around her wrist, focusing her energy on her new target.

"I've taken one of you down," Brooke said frigidly, her tone practically brimming with shards of ice, "and I'll do the same to you."

And still, Ari was only amused. "Well, then." Shoulders giving one last tremble in laughter, a gravtitational pressure seemed to be released as the alien girl touched down to the ground, perfectly level with the Dark Angel. The light of the moon glinted menacingly in Ari's golden eyes, the blob of synthesis above her and around her sais shuddering easily away. In only a moment of silence, she tossed one weapon into the air and caught it by the handle, holding it so it cut right across Brooke's face from her viewpoint. Ari grinned. "_Bring it on_."

Without waiting for further invitation, Brooke sprung forward on her feet, moving with such swift and quick-footed grace that it was almost impossible for anyone to predict her movement. Almost.

She seemed to forget a certain illusions alien was still conscious, if knocked down.

"You're _dead_!" The Dark Angel screamed with fury, sidestepping and thrusting her sword cleanly into Ari. Or, what should have been Ari. The visual simply flickered away, leaving her sword targetless, bloodless, stranded in midair.

And Ichigo, even in her state of intense pain and near blackness, could see Hanajima smile wryly from the corner of her eye before the brunette's head hit the cement, slipping into a state of sublime unawareness.

Before Brooke had the chance to react to this, Ari flashed into sight by the misfit-angel's side, planting a metal-clasping fist into the side of her face. _Crack_. The girl wasn't even given time to scream as pain overwhelmed her, streaks of blood surfacing where the skin had broken. Contact was broken only for one moment before Ari, letting out a jubilant laugh, whipped around and shoved a knee into Brooke's back.

Ichigo shrieked, though it came more as a sob, at the scene before her. All flashing before her eyes, happening almost too fast to process... Her vision, albeit slowly, was returning to normal, but her head felt like it had endured more strain than ever. It made it hard to concentrate, hard to focus, hard to keep from passing out as Hanajima had done from total loss of strength.

But this time, Brooke reacted more swiftly. Allowing only a noise of discomfort to rise in her throat, she found grip on her sword once again and swung it, though blinded by pain, with her usual accuracy and power in the alien's direction. Unaided by illusions, Ari only had her own wit and speed to rely on. And apparently, this was enough.

"Keh!" Retracting her arms at inhuman speed, she contorted her body to an angle, uncomfortable as it may be, where Brooke's sword was able to only catch on a loose strand of Ari's hair. It flitted to the ground harmlessly, and though she experienced a moment of relief, a smirk reappeared on Ari's face.

"Down low - _too slow_!" Riddled with pain, Brooke was unable to register the quickness with which Ari moved - one moment, she had been standing right in range of her swipe, and the next, the alien had dropped to the ground, delivering a hard a full-powered kick the angel-girl's exposed ankles. The force was enough to knock her clear over, and, with a grunt, Brooke hit the cement, sword clattering against the solid surface.

A laugh erupted from above as Ari grabbed a fistful of the girl's hair, the expression on her face reflecting unbridled joy. Before the human/angel girl could be given a chance to retaliate from the fall, a knee was jammed squarely in her gut, knocking the wind out of her and leaving her breathless and delirious for several moments.

The cat girl, who still lay helplessly aside, felt her arms tense. _No._ Why wasn't she doing anything? Why _couldn't _she do anything? Here the Dark Angel, or Brooke, had jumped in so many times to save them, even if she'd insisted on working alone... And all Ichigo could do was lay there. Helpless. _Hopeless._ It was just as Ari said - she was pathetic.

_No... I'm not! Ari's wrong. I can be strong. Even like this... if it means protecting the people who are important to me... I can be strong!_

It was only as the feeling of metal slicing her cheek open registered in her mind that Brooke surfaced back to reality, sucking in an automatic breath of air. And it was only then, as the searing pain somehow cleared her senses, that she saw Ari, dangling in the air above her, a malicious grin painted on her face.

"Ja ne, _angel brat_," And before Brooke could press a glove to her own cheek to stop the rapid bleeding, Ari lifted flame engulfed sais to her lips, and exhaled.

"_NYA_!"

Now a force of habit rather than a force of Synthesis, one word echoed through the disturbed air, three powerful if unsteady footsteps pounding against the gravel before Ichigo's pink-clad body intercepted Brooke's view from Ari, and vice versa. Pain scrawled across her face and body movements, but the determination that shone in her pink eyes burned more brightly than anything. The single tinkle of her bell was the only indication of time passing, between the spiral of flame that burst from Ari's sais and the incantation she spoke next --

"Ribbon Strawberry _Surprise_!"

Blue flame met with a flurry of pink light, causing something of a reaction. An explosion, even. Lights burst into the air as the remainder of the flame whirled past, dousing Ichigo and burning her, marking her arms and legs and uniform in burns, but not to a point of fatality. And the light slipped past the flame, hitting Ari with only a fraction of its power, but with enough of such to stun and shock her, leaving her immobile for several moments after the attack.

Letting out only a short groan, Ichigo's shaking legs gave out beneath her as she crumbled to the ground, trembling in pain. But she was conscious. And she was alive. And she had succeeded in doing the one thing she'd fought the unbearable pains to do - _she'd saved Brooke's life._

And the one who recieved such a rescue could only stare in shock with wide eyes, that had only moments before shone in fear. Managing a pain-stretched smile, Ichigo turned to look back at Brooke, exhaling. "I did it," Was all she could say, with a little weak laugh, "I'm not weak, after all."

Somehow regaining her senses, Brooke looked at the resurfacing Ari and knew what she had to do. Hardening once more and ignoring the pain that coarsed through her and the trailing warmth of blood on her face, she snatched up her sword and stood upright, her usual focus returning.

"I am not looking," she whispered, knuckles turning white as she clenched her hands around the hilt of her sword, "for _pity_."

And then, without waiting for Ari to respong, Brooke jerked her sword upwards and then dragged it downwards through the air. As she did so, she called out the words, and it seemed to tear a hole of darkness in the air. "Mitsukai... _Ken_!" With a breath and a slash, she sent a flurry of darkness at Ari. The alien's eyes widened as she came back from the pain of Ichigo's attack to be faced by an onslaught of pure, enveloping darkness. Only, she realized far too late; it ribboned around her, drowning out her screams and suffocating Ari and all of her power. When she managed to fight free of its grasp, she landed with a thud on the ground, clutching her stomach and gasping.

"_D..damn you_," She hissed, glaring at them both before disapearing into the air, taking Hanajima with her.

Once they were gone, Brooke effortlessly cut the Synthesis away from her skin. It was more awkward using the sword herself, so she created a small cut on the back of her hand, but it was barely noticeable. Sheathing her sword, she paused for a moment, turning to face Ichigo.

"You're alright?"

Ichigo swallowed, and nodded, slowly, though she couldn't help but feel slightly proud. That was a first - Brooke had never spoken directly to her before. Sitting up, though, she put her hand to her jaw and found she was turning back to normal. Even the burns weren't as bad as they had felt - nothing was black, and no bone was showing, and the pain was much less intense. She sighed in relief. _I got lucky that time... _Looking back up at Brooke, she swallowed, and nodded, "...Yeah, I'm fine...now"

Slowly, though hinting reluctance, Brooke nodded and turned to leave. She didn't even take a step before Ichigo said, predictably, "Wait."

The angel girl didn't move. She waited. She owed it to her.

Pushing herself back up to her feet, Ichigo limped over to Brooke. "You've... you've protected me so many times," Brooke said nothing, "All of us. And we know now... we know why you're like us, and why you're not. We want to help. All we want to do is help you like you've helped us. Don't you see now? We're all in this together, no matter how different we all are."

Pausing, Ichigo sighed and stepped closer, trying to make eye contact with Brooke, who wasn't leaving or saying a thing.

"Brooke..." She said her give an unfamiliar twitch at the mention of her name,

"... Will you come with me? Whether we can fix it or not, it's better than wandering in search of nothing. We'll do everything we can, everything we can possibly do to help. Just give me and the others a chance. We're on your side. And... and even if you say no... _I'm not going to leave you behind_!"

--

_Next Chapter:_

_Hate fuels destruction. With the desire to eliminate comes power and strength - but does it outdo the will to protect? Ichigo and the others are on constant guard, having to always be on the defensive. How much longer can they come out the winner... let alone alive?_


	20. Acidic Intentions

**xuri:** Hello, hello. ;3 I'm really running out of things to say up here, so I'll just keep it short. Hee. I'm delaying the chapters on purpose a bit now, so a)people can keep up, and b)I can have the pictures I've drawn up before chapter 26. I am almost finished, I swear. I've just been slacking. xD

SamKo: Yeah, silly bishie-Ryou. xD Even if I DO love you, you've done a lot of (accidental) evil things. x3 Poor Ryou-kun. -huggles- And yes, he'd definitely have the expensivest water brand. Because, really, what else is he gonna spend his money on? Stuffed cats? I think not! (Unless...)

**--**

**Blend (chapter twenty)**

**..acidic intentions..**

"_I'm not leaving you behind!"_

Ichigo, even though she was feeling weak, poured a lot into those words. And it actually got a reaction from Brooke. The angel girl turned, wide eyed, to face the pink haired cat girl, looking genuinely surprised. Taking a shuddering breath, Mew Ichigo seemed to relax, if only slightly.

"I know you feel like you've been abandoned... and that it's not fair, because it's not your fault," Ichigo continued on boldly, taking deep breaths. It was certainly a feat to be coming up with words at all, when what she really wanted was to fall down and sleep, "But no one's _abandoned _you, Brooke. You just think you won't be accepted, because of the injection..." Ichigo put a hand gingerly to her own cat ear, shaking her head, "But that's not true. Others might just be afraid, but _we're_ not. We're ready to accept you, no matter what. Not because of your power," Ichigo smiled, "but because of you. Even if you don't fight with us, for us - we'll do everything we can to help you. I promise."

Brooke was facing her fully now, expression unreadable. She didn't seem to know how to respond to that at all, but Ichigo knew it was a step up from the usual.

Taking a few more deep breaths to steady herself, Ichigo held her arm out, outstretching a pink gloved hand. She smiled. "So... Will you come with me? You don't have to be alone anymore."

Brooke's blue eyes locked their gaze on the hand held out. Without even looking back at Ichigo, "Maybe I like being alone. Maybe I'm fine without anyone's help,". Ichigo's hand faltered, but she kept it outstretched, nonetheless. No matter how discouraged she felt... Ichigo wouldn't give up.

After a moment of silence, Brooke sighed, looking back at Ichigo. She was startled to see how much her gaze had softened. "But I'll go," she said quietly, grabbing hold of Ichigo's hand, "I'll come with you." Lowering her eyes, she said quietly, "I want to be normal again... I want to be_ 'Brooke'_."

Ichigo smiled, tugging her towards her and turning to head back to the cafe. "Let's go, then. Shirogane will know what to do; he'll know how to help you. C'mon," Staying in a transformed state, Ichigo led Brooke down the road, walking quickly so they'd get there before Ryou closed the place up completely. But she couldn't help but smile.

_She's not so cold..._

--

Ari walked back inside with an angry air, breathing heavily from the aftermath of the last attack. Hanajima followed after her, in about the same state.

"Stupid," she seethed through her teeth, looking at her own hand, golden eyes glinting with fury, "I let her get me again. And I almost had Momomiya begging for mercy..." It clenched tightly into a fist, her knuckles turning white beneath her gloves, "Stupid. Stupid._ Stupid."_

"They're getting more powerful," Hanajima pointed out, walking in with a bit of a limp. Her face was pale and drained, "Our own power barely stands up to that. We need to create an edge..."

Ari scoffed. "Please don't give me the _'we need a third person' _lecture again. You saw how that turned out."

"It didn't make things worse, Ari. She can be trained, you know,"

"She's a useless investment. We shouldn't have brought her in the first place, Marzipan's only a weak link..."

"Weren't _you_ once a weak link, Ari?" Ari's jaw visibly tightened as Hanajima spoke, unfazed by her anger, "Always avoiding a fight, until rage fuelled your strength... just tell me that after this is all over you'll still be craving blood. She can get better. And if she doesn't, we can _force_ her to. Weaklings can't fight back against persuasion-- Ari?"

Hanajima had been speaking of something that should have peaked Ari's interest, but instead the blue haired alien looked slightly alarmed, her gold eyes scanning the room.

"...Where?"

Eyes widening, Hanajima turned around as well. The room was completely empty. No trace of any person, whatsoever. The stool sit placidly in the middle of the room, as it had been when they left, only empty.

_"...Where is she?_"

--

"Shi-ro-ga-_neeeee_!"

Ichigo yelled at the top of her lungs, pounding her fists against the door of the cafe. They'd been doing that for five minutes now - Ichigo shouting at the door, trying to wake her boss up, while Brooke just stood behind, watching blankly. Ichigo kept looking over, as if she were afraid the girl would leave; then what? Ryou would probably kill her if she woke him up for no reason.

"Open the door! _Openthedoornow_!" She was growing tired, but still hadn't detransformed; Ichigo had somehow gotten the notion that if she did, Brooke might become angry. An angry Brooke could do one of two things: a) leave her to Ryou's wrath, or b) attack her on her own, both of which she didn't want to happen. So she pounded her fists on that door like there was no tommorrow.

"Open... the... _DOO_-" Ichigo was cut off mid sentence as the door was jerked open, literally sending her flying inside and tumbling over the floor with an oomph to Ryou's feet. Who, point in fact, did not look pleased at all. His jaw was clenched, his eyes were narrowed, and he was a perfect picture of anger.

"What?" Ryou said calmly, much to the surprise of Ichigo. Though, when she looked up, she saw his jaw twitch.

"You could have opened the door earlier, Shirogane," Ichigo pointed out.

Ryou closed his eyes in frustration. "_Why. Are. You. Here_?"

Ichigo winced under his glare, and in attempts to quickly avert it, she lifted a gloved hand and pointed over at Brooke. Ryou raised an eyebrow, his gaze following her direction, until he settled on the place where Brooke was standing. He blinked, obviously surprised there was even someone there. Every moreso when he saw the single wing on her back.

His confusion disapeared. "Brooke, is it?"

The angel girl nodded, silently, her blue eyes calculating as she looked at him. Ryou simply nodded again, and stepped over Ichigo to open the door wider.

"Come in, then," he said simply, nudging Ichigo in the side with his foot and stepping past her. Ichigo grumbled something and glared up at him before rolling over and getting back up onto her feet, brushing her pink skirt off. Her black tail swished behind her as she followed after Ryou.

Brooke stepped past her without even looking her way. "You can go back to normal, you know," she said icily. Ichigo froze, "I don't care."

As Brooke walked off after Ryou, Ichigo stared tensely, before shaking it off. And, since she gave her the okay, she detransformed in a flash of pink light, instantly regaining a bit of energy. With that, she hurried off after the two.

Once they were in the main lobby area of the cafe, Ryou glanced up and switched on the lights. Ichigo noted that it looked eerie inside when it was this empty, and so dark, the lamps flickering with unease. She shivered. Usually, at least Yumi was running around and causing a havoc, but now...

"So, you can't transform back to normal," Ryou casually pulled a chair aside from the table and sat down, resting his elbow on the table, "right?"

Brooke nodded solemnly. He nodded in return, looking over at Ichigo.

"And you." Ichigo winced at his harsh tone, "_You_ wandered off, didn't you?"

"Uhm..." Ichigo's lips twitched nervously, and she sucked in a breath of air before putting her hands on her hips, "Well, its not like it was on purpose. I saw her and you said we needed to find her, so --"

"We'll discuss this later," clearly, he was already tired of her excuses, and turned back to Brooke, who was waiting patiently and without view of emotion, "Where have you been staying, then? I'm gathering your family doesn't know?"

She shook her head, her long ponytail waving darkly in the air. "No. They do not. I've found areas in forests or abandoned district areas to stay. They work fine."

Ryou shook his head. "Well," he gave an exasperated sigh, "We can't have that, if you're going to be with us now." He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You came with Ichigo because you were going to side with us, didn't you?"

Even though there was still little change in her expression, Brooke appeared to be surprised. "Well, yes, but --"

"Then we'll be the ones to take care of you," he interrupted her in a simple tone, knowing she would only protest if given the chance. Standing up from the chair, he pushed it aside, looking at her firmly. "You'll be staying here. We have plenty of rooms that we've never used in this building, and Keiichiro had plenty of food and supplies for living. As for your parents..." he trailed off, as if considering it, then shook his head, "...they don't need to know about the Angel thing until you've been cured. But I will ask that you call them from here and make up a story of sorts, just assure them you're alright and you'll be back soon."

Brooke frowned, and looked like she was going to protest more, but knew it was pointless. So did Ryou. "We'll get you settled tonight, then. No more forest sleeping for you. I made a mistake with the fusing, so I at least owe this much to you. Keiichiro and I will get started on finding a way to revert you to normal immediately."

Then, looking at Ichigo, he nodded. "You can go home now."

Ichigo stared at him. "Excuse me?" She blinked, and folded her arms over her chest haughtily, taking offense. Then, raising an eyebrow in suspicion, "Ohhh, _I_ get it, you just want to be _alone_ so you can put the moves on Brooke here. Look," she was directing the next few words at Brooke, "he may put on a nice guy act, but he's really a jerk. Just before you do anything dumb."

An anger mark appeared on Ryou's forehead as he closed his eyes patiently. "Thanks, Strawberry. Good to know you care. Now _go home_."

Ichigo glared. "Fine. I will. But only because I know Brooke will fight back if you try and take advantage of her. Right?" She looked at Brooke for confirmation, but the girl didn't appear amused by this at all. She was just staring blankly at a wall. Ichigo sweatdropped. "Er, right. But if anything happens, I'll find out," Yawning, Ichigo turned and started walking out the door, "Bye bye, I'll be here tommorrow as usual. Don't do anything _stupid!" _She chanted before disappearing out the door.

Ryou stared after her and shook his head, before turning and heading upstairs. "Baka girl. Keiichiro must have given her too much cake again."

--

Ari had her face in her hands.

Hanajima was staring up at the ceiling, her arms folded over her chest. The room had nearly been teared apart. The sole closet in the area had just had its door ripped off. The floor was covered in vinegar that had spilled from the pantry of the dead woman's apartment. And Ari looked like she was either ready to cry, or hurl her sais into Marzipan's chest.

Who, by the way, was still nowhere to be found.

"What," Ari inhaled before speaking, her words gradually gaining volume as she pulled her hands away from her face, "kind of _crap _does she think she's pulling!"

"You found her before, didn't you?" Hanajima said idly, obviously more upset about the fact that they no longer had vinegar and that Ari had just torn their 'home' apart than Marzipan having disappeared.

Ari's lips twitched, her golden eyes gleaming with unbridled anger. "She broke the rules this time," she growled, pressing her hand hard against the countertop, "She _disobeyed_. Now she's running around somewhere, hiding, or going home..." She shut her eyes in frusteration, "She's a coward. We shouldn't have brought her!"

"She was the only one that wanted to come," Still Hanajima was calm, fixing her hair idly with one hand, motioning for Ari to calm down with the other, "and we thought we'd need more than just two of us. Do you remember, Ari?" She grimaced. "We came for the same reason - to punish Momomiya Ichigo. She didn't come here to fight. She came because _Pai_ told her too much, and she wanted to know even more, and you knew that. But you thought you didn't even need me, so it didn't matter; you thought you could take her down on your own."

Ari gritted her teeth, glaring sideways at Hanajima. "What's your point?" She snapped.

Hanajima paused, and then shrugged, running her fingers through her hair.

"It's your fault, Ari. So now it's _your_ problem."

--

"Yumi! Tell Roxi not to wait for me, okay?" Ichigo called back to the girl who was waiting on the sidewalk. The short girl smiled back at her.

"Okaay! See ya at the cafe, Ichigo!"

Smiling lightly, the redhead waved and hurried down the street. Well, she'd said she would make sure Ryou wasn't trying to _'seduce' _Brooke, wasn't she? Not because she was jealous or anything. _Why would I be jealous?_ That was ridiculous - for one, even though Brooke wasn't defenseless, she seemed as if she felt uneasy, and it wouldn't be hard to take advantage of that. And for another, Lettuce wasn't back yet - wouldn't she be absolutely heartbroken to see a girl in the arms of her crush? She was hurrying for Lettuce. And Brooke. Though, Ichigo got the feeling Brooke might punch Ryou's lights out if he tried anything suddenly, anyway.

This was a comforting thought. Before she could get to far, though, she caught up with a black haired girl.

"Ah! Kona!" Ichigo was surprised to see her, and apparently so was Kona. "You're not usually this far yet. Did you get out early or something?"

Kona looked startled, and then embarassed. She quickly looked away. "No, um, I was just walking fast I think. You, too, Ichigo...?"

Ichigo blinked, and then rubbed the back of her head. "Hurm...Oh, right! I was just in a hurry to make sure Brooke was doing alright." Frowning, she shrugged, "That, and, make sure Shirogane wasn't putting 'the moves' on her."

Kona appeared confused by the first statement. And outright alarmed by the last. "_Brooke...? _Why's Brooke -- _what_? Moves? _Urm_?"

Oh, right. Ichigo laughed nervously, knocking her head with her fist. "Ohhh, yeah! Haha, guess I didn't tell you guys, did I? I convinced Brooke to come and stay with us, and now she's living at the cafe!"

That obviously made a bit more sense to Kona, as she nodded, though still looked worried about the '_moves' _deal. Ichigo didn't bother explaining that, as they were already at the Cafe.

Pausing at the doors, she inhaled, and then rammed her body through, storming inside. "_SHIROGANE_!"

"What the--!" Ryou nearly fell off the chair he'd been sitting on, his bottled water falling to the floor, spilling everywhere. He stared at Ichigo with wide eyes, then at the floor, then angrily back at Ichigo. "Strawberry... What. Are. You. _Doing_?"

"Good." She huffed, glaring at Ryou and turning back to Kona. "He's not overly happy or anything. And Brooke isn't in the room. I'm going to see if she's been traumatized with his version of _'flirting_.'" With that, Ichigo stepped off towards the basement, leaving a bewildered Kona and an annoyed Ryou behind.

"She's on something," he concluded, stress mark appearing on his head, "I swear it.What was _that _about?"

"Oh, urm," Kona blinked, looking at Ryou awkwardly, "Brooke's...staying here?"

The blonde stared at her for a moment, the stress fading from his face. "...That's right, you guys weren't here." Kona obviously looked alarmed when he confirmed the fact a girl was living here with him, and it took Ryou a second to figure it out. He closed his eyes and sighed. "She said I was going to _'put the moves' _on Brooke, didn't she?"

Kona nodded slowly, looking slightly relieved at the ringing denial in his voice. He pressed a hand to his face, resisting the urge to yell at Ichigo now and tell her to clean all the tables herself. "That would explain it, then."

Brooke heard the clomping of shoes down the stairs, but barely moved in response to them. She simply waited for whoever was coming down to do whatever it was they came down to do. But she hadn't expected it to be a quirky redhead who was making sure she hadn't been harassed by a certain blonde.

"_Bro_- ah," Brooke closed her eyes as Ichigo stuttered. She was facing a wall, so the cat fused girl couldn't see her face, anyways. Because it seemed that the girl intended to speak with her, Brooke rolled over, looking at Ichigo through ice blue eyes. Ichigo jumped. "I-i'm sorry!" She stuttered, biting her lip. Brooke could have rolled her eyes, if she'd had wanted to put forth the effort, "I didn't know you were asleep."

It would have seemed that way, from Ichigo's point of view. There was a mattress - Ryou had given it to her, said she could stay down here until he found a room comfortable enough upstairs - propped above a few tables set side by side, and she was curled up on it. But she hadn't been _asleep. _"I wasn't," she replied simply, but Ichigo just stared at her as if asking for an explaination. Brooke sighed in frusteration. Oh, joy. Was her hair naturally blonde? "I haven't sat on, let alone _slept_ on, anything comfortable these past few months."

It seemed to take Ichigo a while to get it. Her eyes widened. "Oh." Was all she said. Brooke felt like hitting her head against a wall, but was much too comfortable to go out of her way. Fidgetting uncomfortably in place, Ichigo forced an outrageously large smile onto her face. "Okay then! I just came down tocheckifRyouhaddoneanythingtoyouthatmight_scaryouforlife_, but you seem fine to me. Bye bye!" And back up the stairs she went. Brooke felt a headache coming on.

"She's all sugar and bubblegum..." she murmured, and rolled back over so she was comfortable again.

Ryou had the mop ready when Ichigo clomped back up the stairs. At first, she'd looked worried, but the minute she was on the main flight, she looked angry again. Stomping over to Ryou, she stared him straight in the face, unaware of the mop that was diligently being held out to her.

"She doesn't have a uniform." She stated.

Ryou didn't care, by the look on his face, but she kept talking anyway in a huff.

"How is she supposed to work here without a uniform? Or are you letting her off because you're in _love _with her?"

"My," Ryou covered half his face with his hand, watching Ichigo calmly, "someone's jealous."

**"I AM _NOT_ JEALOUS!"**

"_Uwah_! Earthquake!" Yumi cried, diving behind Roxi as they approached the cafe's entrance. Even Roxi looked a bit pale. It was like something off the richter scale had just happened, but nothing was even vibrating even more. As the small girl shivered behind her friend, the brunette turned to look at Kikyo, who had been walking with them, with wide eyes.

"W-w-what was_ that_?" She suddenly looked very stiff. Kikyo raised an eyebrow at the cafe, and then stepped forward. Without flinching, though she glanced inside skeptically, she pushed the doors opened and glanced back at Roxi and the others.

"Only the usual."

And as they stepped inside, what they saw was, in fact, only the usual. Ichigo yelling her lungs out at Ryou, who was staring idly at the ceiling as if it were a quiet day, a mop held out towards his redheaded employee. Kona was somewhere in the background, having been knocked over by the sheer loudness of Ichigo's outcry. She looked at the girls who had just entered, and blinked.

_Watch where you step_, it was like she was saying.

"I don't know what you're _spouting_! You make me _work _every chance you_ get _and you only give me _breaks _if I _beg on my knees _and promise to work _overtime_ on _weekends_, and yet _she_ come along and you're not making her work _at all! _She's a member of the team, isn't she? She_ lives _here, doesn't she? I'm sure she'd be just fine working at a cafe, but _nooo_, you don't even give her a uniform! You're trying to make her fall for you! _How can she work without a uniform_?"

Ryou waited. After a few moments of silence, he blinked. "You're finished?" He asked. Ichigo glared at him. He took that as a yes. Shoving the mop into her hands, he dusted off his own, "How is she supposed to work with a_ large black wing _sticking out of her back?"

"Eh." Ichigo stared blankly. Ryou was already gone though, and she was stuck there with a soggy mop held out in her hands. The redhead frowned. "You...jerk! You lead me into that just to _prove_ -- make everyone believe I'm stupid! _You idiot_!" She shouted after him, but he'd already disappered into the kitchen. Huffing angrily, she slammed the mop down onto the floor and started working, scrubbing at the tiles and muttering to herself angrily.

"Ano..." Kona started, but then shook her head and sighed. There wasn't a point, was there? Telling Ichigo to calm down was like trying to extinguish a burning house with only half an expired fire extinguisher. She went right to cleaning the tables off, instead, while Yumi and Roxi were still trembling in the doorway. Kikyo had most likely gone off in the kitchen, knowing there hadn't been an earthquake. Something close to it, though - Ichigo's temper.

--

"Phew! That got pretty busy..." Roxi murmured, adjusting her cafe uniform headpiece before pushing in a few chairs. The cafe hadn't closed yet, but a bunch of customers had suddenly emptied out. They were taking advantage of the lull for a break. Ichigo had calmed down, but now that she didn't have to be all cheery-cheery around the customers, she was stomping around again, just waiting to swoop down on Ryou and yell at him.

Luckily, he seemed to know when he was not wanted. Kona was relieved. He always took them unflinchingly, but the rest of them could do just fine without Ichigo's outbursts. And when he wasn't bossing everyone around, she seemed to calm down back to her cheery self.

"Huahh... I hope there aren't any more earthquakes," Yumi murmured, lounging back in a chair with her hands behind her hand, eyes looking up at the ceiling. Kona laughed.

"Don't we all, ne?"

Once Ichigo seemed to be cooled off - even Kikyo was unsure Ryou could resist tormenting her when she was in a mood like this, but he kept his distance - she was perky and in a much more agreeable mood. That was a relief to all. Even to Brooke, who, downstairs, was disturbed by the loudness of Ichigo's stamping around earlier. _What is she, an elephant?_

"Hmmm... it smells like cake and cleaning chemicals in here," Ichigo noted, patting her head to fix her hair. She said '_cake_' fondly, of course, but when something like that mixed with the strong scent of floor waxer or dirt removal, it wasn't so inviting. Kind of stuffy. Eyes lighting up, she glanced over at Roxi and the others.

"Why don't we sneak out for a walk? Even just around the cafe. Customers won't be showing up again for a while, so shouldn't we get some fresh air?"

"Uhm..." Kona sweatdropped, setting a broom aside, "Don't you think at least one of us should stay here? In case anyone wants an order?"

"Don't worry, they'll take care of it," Ichigo piped cheerily, patting Kona heartily on the back. The elder girl sighed, but nodded. Somehow, putting Ichigo in a larger space and a less streneous atmosphere might make sure she didn't blow any more fuses that day. Besides, she was right - if they stuck around the cafe, they'd see anyone coming in and head back inside. Anyways, Kona could use some fresh air. It _did_ feel kinda stuffy in here, after all.

"Hah! Let's go for a _wa-alk_!" Yumi chanted, hopping out of her chair and promptly dragging Roxi and Ichigo along with her. Kikyo silently followed, looking more than glad - she'd seemed irritated by the amount of chemical in the air - and Kona dragged her feet behind her. Before she stepped out the door, she glanced back at the kitchen.

She shook her head and slipped out the door. They'd be fine.

--

When the door opened again, Ryou looked up, ready to rag on Ichigo for leaving the cafe without permission. But it wasn't her. Or any of the other girls. A customer, it looked like, stepped airily inside. That didn't make him any less angry.

_Oh, great... no one shows up again until they leave. It's all her plot, I'm sure, _Aggrivated as he was, Keiichiro couldn't be put to the task. He had a large order of cakes to make and dishes to clean, to boot. It couldn't be so hard, anyways. It wasn't like Ichigo and the others went through hard labour everyday. Ryou could handle one order.

Casually stepping out the kitchen door, he approached the table the girl had taken the liberty of seating herself too. A smart one. He'd seen girls standing cluelessly at the entrance before, not seeing a waitress, and fidgetting like they were tired of standing but refusing to sit down without being shown to their seat. A nice change.

"Hey." he said, and the girl tilted her head up at him from where she'd been looking at the table with deep blue eyes. He blinked. _Why's she staring at me funny?_ But the girl simply smiled, purple hair falling over her eyes and covering some of her pale face.

"Hello. How are you this afternoon?" She asked politely, hands folded on the table neatly. Ryou noticed she looked tired, like she'd ran a long way or something. She was dressed casually enough; a black jacket pulled over a brown shirt with a rose embroidered in the middle, a red skirt, a plain casual sneakers.

"Er... _Fine_." He said quickly, wondering why he was saying anything other than '_can i help you' _at all. He'd been about to when the wavy haired girl had started talking. He was no good at this sort of thing, making small talk with strangers. "You?"

Her eyes seemed to light up. It was scary. "I've been dancing," she said, and he could hear the fatigue in her voice, "in the park. I'm hungry now, though. Do you think I could get a chocolate brownie?"

"Eh? Sure." He said quickly, turning to go to the kitchen and give Keiichiro the order before she distracted him any longer. Too late.

"Will _you_ make it?"

"Huh?" Ryou looked back at her. She was staring at him seriously.

"Will you be the one making it for me?"

"Oh, no," he seemed startled, "Akasaka Keiichiro is our cook. He's fine, I just work as --"

"Please?" She smiled, her eyes widening, "I'd really like it if... if you could make it. For me." Her lips curled upwards, "I want to know what _your_ cooking tastes like."

Ryou stared. Well, if that wasn't as creepy as holy - "Er, I'm really not a good cook," Ryou assured her solemnly, but the girl just stared with the exact same expression. The one that said, so innocently,_ 'cook me a brownie, or else'. _And while she didn't seem capable of even breaking a shoelace, Ryou could do without finding exactly what _'or else' _was.

"..._Al..._right," He said slowly, taking a few steps backwards to the kitchen. He looked almost afraid she would suddenly blurt '_and_ _bring me cake and pie and sorbet and ice cream all made by your beautiful hands my lovely'. _But she just looked absolutely delighted. In silence. "...Just... no money back if it doesn't taste great, okay? I warned you." And he disapeared into the kitchen.

Once he was gone, Marzipan's smile didn't fade, and she simply stared down at the table, brushing her fingers lightly against its shiny surface. Her sigh almost had a dreamy air to it. "...he's _just_ like you said he'd be, Pai-oniichan."

--

"What-_a _refresh-_ing_ walk!" Ichigo said stiffly, marching back to the cafe with the '_crew_' chasing behind her. Ichigo had been in a good mood the whole time, chattering on about how nice the weather was and how she couldn't wait for the snow. She'd even been taking her sweet time around the cafe, like she really didn't have to be anywhere or be doing anything. It was a relief to see her so calm after her earlier bombarding of outbursts. Kona, Roxi and Kikyo had all been enjoying her good mood, and then _horse-girl_ had to go and wreck it.

"Ara, I betcha Brooke's keeping Ryou company now, right? Since Ichigo and Kona wouldn't go for it." Yumi piped cheerfully as they rounded the back of the cafe. Ichigo stopped stiff. Roxi slapped a hand to her forehead, and Kona and Kikyo sighed in unison. They barely even drew breath when the redhead stomped around to the entrance, a wickedly-enhanced smile plastered on her face, fists clenched at her sides as she jerkedly marched off, to where she was now, just coming up the pathway to the door.

"I had a-_great_ time, didn't you-_guys_?" Her smile cracked, and she didn't even look back at the others while she spoke. She just kept on walking. Kona sweatdropped, knowing this wouldn't end well at all...

"Yup!_ I _did," Yumi agreed heartily, and Roxi simply looked completely limp from her obliviousness. Not much of a surprise, though. That was just Yumi's ordinary behaviour, after all.

Kona glanced at Ichigo as she tried to keep up with her. Her lips were twitched forcefully into a grin, but her eyes were burning wildly, like instead of _'I had a lovely time' _she wanted to say _'Shirogane is dead. Dead. Dead. Dead_.' Ah, boy, and they'd been so_ close _to calming her down, too.

Just as they were only feet away from the entrance, the large doors opened. Assuming it was Ryou, Ichigo opened her mouth, but the words died on her lips the instant she saw who was stepping through the doors.

A purple haired girl, her deep blue eyes filled with delight, and half eaten brownie in her hands, her jaw moving to happily chew whatever piece was in her mouth. Just as the girls had, she froze too at the sight of them, looking innocently confused at first. Then, her face darkened, and she finished off her chocolate almost immediately.

"M-Marzipan...!" Ichigo stuttered. It was enough of a shock to see her wandering out of what had been a very empty cafe, with a brownie that looked too uneven and hideous to be Keiichiro's work, but aside from that - hadn't Ari said something along the lines of having '_gotten rid of her'_? And yet here she was. There were some bandaids on her face and hands, but they were hidden mostly by her sleeves and hair. They were probably wounds from their earlier battle.

Marzipain blinked. And then, her smile faded into a frown as she finished her brownie, scowling in the girls' direction. "I've been looking for _you_," she whispered in a low tone, pressing her fingers to her lips and closing her eyes, her human disguise dripping away from her to reveal pointed ears and her alien uniform instead. "but you ruined the ending of my date with Shirogane Ryou. I don't think --"

"'Scuse me?" Ichigo stared at her, and then lifted a bent finger, "...did you just say _'date' _and _'Shirogane Ryou' _in the... same sentence?"

Kona looked especially appalled. Roxi and the others looked puzzled and lost. Smiling, Marzipan's dark eyes flickered open again, a grim but almost cheery expression on her face.

"I did. Maybe you should use those cat ears of yours more often," Marzipan said in a low tone, and clicked her heel off the ground to float a few inches up into the air. "But I have other business to take care of, you see. I've been thrown away from somewhere I wish to be, and now I want to reclaim my place."

Ichigo's shoulders stiffened as she came to a realization. So, Marzipan hadn't been sent home, or perished; she was simply shunned by the other two aliens, from what she understood, at least. That was different. Maybe... maybe they could still win her over?

"Marzipan... you don't_ really _want to fight us, do you?" Ichigo tried softly, taking a step forward. Kona's eye twitched, regardless of the dire seeming situation. _How can she be calm all of a sudden when she was so ready to blow up a few seconds ago?_ "We don't want to fight you if we don't have to. We don't want to fight anyone. Can't you understand that? Can't you understand we haven't done _anything wrong_?"

Marzipan scowled, and Ichigo flinched. This obviously wasn't having the hesitating effect it had last time. "_They_ haven't done anything wrong but gotten involved with you," she lifted a gloved finger to point directly at Ichigo, "_You're_ the witch. _You're _the one with the evil ways. _You've_ dragged them all into danger, against their will. _You're ruining lives."_

Ichigo's eyes widened in horror as she stared up at the alien. Those words...

"Ichigo, don't listen you dare listen to her," Roxi said quickly, rushing over to her side after seeing the terrified expression on her face. "None of this is anyone's fault but the alien's. Ichigo, don't let her words get to you!"

"She's right," Kikyo pitched in, levelling a glare with the alien, "you have nothing to do with the suffering. You're as focused on ending this as any of us are.

Their words were of little consolation to Ichigo at this point. Her eyebrows were furrowed into a deep frown, her amber eyes stricken with hurt. Marzipan seemed to take neither pleasure nor pain in this coming around. She simply stared at Ichigo with a devoid expression.

"But I no longer have to worry," she said, leaning forward to face them more closely, "about your bewitching Shirogane Ryou. True love cannot be interupted by witches such as yourself. I'm here for a different reason; I'm here to prove my worth to Hana-san and Ari-san. They'll see when I defeat you, that I'm not a cowardly weakling like they think."

Ichigo's arms went limp, and she looked thoroughly disappointed_. So, that's the way it is... fight._

"Ichigo?" Kikyo stood firmly by her side, and the redhead glanced over at her, and nodded. They didn't have a choice.

"Mew Mew _Strawberry! Powder! Framboise! Cerise! Kitsune_!" Ichigo pulled her pendant out, clutching it tightly in hand as they all called out their phrases,

"Metamorpha-_sis!"_

The girls were surrounded by lights flashing together, emerging in their battle Mew costumes. Marzipan seemed unfazed, as usual. She'd expected them to fight back, after all. Otherwise it wouldn't be worth it when she won.

Gritting her teeth, the alien's eyes darkened and she drew out her bow, carefully aiming an arrow right between where Ichigo and Kikyo were standing. The cat girl's pink eyes widened in realization that the arrow looked different from her usual poison tipped ones_. It's...glowing._

"Huah!" Marzipan grunted as she released the string from between her fingers, the arrow whooshing through the air soundlessly. Kikyo and the others reacted right away by jumping aside; even Ichigo though quickly enough to flip over, and bounce off her hands before skiding to her feet safely. This was a wise move, supposedly, as the instant the arrow came into contact with the ground, it exploded.

The impact didn't effect them, but it brought forth a thig smog of purple smoke, preventing Ichigo and the others from seeing or being able to attack. Her ears perked in efforts to hear any approaches, Ichigo coughed and cover her mouth with her gloved hand, squinting and trying to see through the fog. "Oh, no..." Her first impression was this was meant for a sneak attack. But as the smoke slowly faded, she saw this wasn't the case, as there had been no attacks at all.

As the smoke thinned out, they saw Marzipan exactly where she had been, arm outstretched, bow hanging against her back in storage. Kona's eyes fell over the alien's open palm, where a glowing circular object lay. She blinked in alarm. It matched the colour that Marzipan's eyes were giving off...

"A-ara! I can't... I _can't move!" _Yumi cried, and Ichigo turned to see. Though, she couldn't turn. Yumi had been right, the smoke had somehow managed to freeze up their muscles. Ichigo's eyes widened in horror.

"No way...!" Her voice was muffled against the palm she had pressed against her lips.

"Don't worry over something so small," Marzipan said gently, her eyes still glowing dangerously, "It will wear off." The air around her seemed to be light, her hair wavering around as the object in her hand started glowing brighter and brighter. All they could do was watch helplessly.

"It was a distraction... what is she doing?" Roxi whispered, eyes wide, as she too was unable to move. No one could answer her, because no one knew. Ichigo could feel movement control being regained, but... she had a feeling it would be too late to stop her by then.

Her eyes sliding shut, Marzipan suddenly clasped her palm closed over the small, seed like object, wrapping her other hand around the fist and raising them high into the air. Power seemed to be gathering around her in high strengths, all in the air, giving her a glowing appearence. Still, she kept her hands so tightly closed, her hair waving wildly as if caught in the wind, her lips parted in forced breath against the violent torrent she was caught in. Finally, something seemed to want to break through the cage that was her interlaced fingers - a purple light began to push its way through the cracks, forcing her hands apart. She fought against it as though it were an enemy, but wore no expression of worry or panic. This was supposed to be happening. This was what she had planned...

Ichigo was given control of her arms again, her shoulders thawed from whatever spell they'd been placed under. "Strawberry Bell," she tried, holding her hand out expectantly. Nothing came. Her muscles tensed. _That can't be... has it affected my power, too?_

Letting out a cry from the force, Marzipan's hands were split apart, as an unopened flower burst from her palm, twisting high into the air. Kikyo stared in disbelief. It's petals were dark violet, just mere shades away from being black, twisted tightly around one another. Just as she made this observation, the released their bind, large dark petals falling from their kept position to hanging over her hands. It was a giant flower, Marzipan was holding, in the shape of a lily, though none of them knew what it really could be. They saw power enamating from it, and knew it was dangerous, whatever it was. It seemed to be dripping with darkness, and yet it was so beautiful, without words to properly describe it...

"Eh?" Just as suddenly, the flower began to wither, to die. It's long, elegant petals drooped, twisting around Marzipan's wrists as they shrivelled, melting into a dark liquid. Ichigo's eyes widened, and she realized she could move fully again. But as the liquid dripped down the alien's arms until they were completely coated, emanating the strange dark aura, Ichigo knew she'd been right. _It's too late._

"I...will," she said lowly, her eyes flashing open. The flower had melted away completely, her arms coated completely in the substance from fingertip to shoulder. There was a deep, foreboding menace in her eyes, one that made even Yumi wince in fear. "..._prove myself_!" She cried out, and the glowing burned brighter than ever, with one swift movement forward, she let out a loud yell, slashing her left arm sideways through the air. Kona was standing a few feet away, but well out of her reach.

_Arm's _reach, at least.

The dark, black liquid splattered onto Kona's face as if Marzipan's arms were made solidly of it. At first, the girl stared in surprise, utter shock written on her face. It instantly turned to horror. "_Uaaagggghhh_!" She screamed, pressing her hands to her face and dropping limply to her knees.

"K-Kona!" Ichigo rushed over to her friend's side, and her face paled when she could see the skin darkening around the small splatters of ink-like liquid. It was burning her. It was _burning_ through Kona's skin.

"..It's acid..." she heard Kikyo mutter in disbelief.

"Get it off!_ Get it off_!" Kona screamed, trying to scrub the acid from her skin with her gloves, tears forced from pain pouring from her eyes. They stung worse. Spinning around to face Marzipan, Ichigo stared in complete terror.

"..._you-!"_

Marzipan remained devoid of emotion, her hair floating around her head from the power still coming from her hands. The acid seemed to be dripping off them now, as if they'd been made completely into the substance. She showed no remorse over the pain she could see the other girl in. They were enemies, after all.

"How could you do that to Kona-chan?" Roxi burst out, clutching her wand tightly and fearfully in her hand. Yumi stood right beside her with her own tiny bell-weapon, nodding.

"That's so cruel! _There's no good in you at allllll!"_ As if on the same wavelength of thought, both girls charged at the purple haired alien at once, opening their mouths to summon their attacks forth.

"_Ribbon _----"

It took no effort. There was barely even a strain on Marzipan's face as she crossed both arms over her chest and swung them outwards, sending large splashes of the acid right at the panda and horse fused girls. They couldn't move fast enough, and were struck in a full front attack from the projectile liquid. The force alone was enough to make them stumble. It was the burning pain that made them fall.

"_Uwaahhh!" _Yumi's eyes showed an emotion that was complete petrification as she fell to the grass, clutching at her stomach where the acid was eating, whimpering and trying to smother the pain. Roxi simply fell without a sound - she'd been hit dangerously across the shoulders, and falling to the ground did nothing but make it all the more worse. Neither of them could do anything more. They were helpless, and under a spell of intense pain they could not break.

Ichigo stared at them, eyes stricken wide with horror. _How can she..._ she swivelled around to face Marzipan, her own face pale, _...how can she do something so... horrible... without even batting an eye?_

Marzipan stared solemnly at Ichigo, and she knew if she didn't do something she'd be the next target. She'd been so naive_. There cannot be any good in here. How could I have ever given her a chance?_ Tears pouring from her eyes, she held her Strawberry bell firmly and charged right for the alien.

"Ribbon Strawberry _Check!"_

The light wouldn't even come. She'd said the incantation, but before she could see the attack even reach Marzipan, something hot was slapped against her arm. She was in shock for a moment, a very short moment, before she felt the pain searing into her arm.

Letting out a cry, Ichigo's step faltered, her hand immediately going to press against her arm. No, that wouldn't do - she was pushing the acid farther into her skin. As she pulled her hand away, she saw it had eaten through her glove and started on the palm of her hand as well. She felt her breathing become light. And then the pain shot at her again, nearly making her knees buckle.

"I can't..._ I can't_! I have to protect them," she whispered, grasping the heart shaped weapon so hard that her arms began to shake. She could feel the hot liquid tearing at her skin, and she would take care of that later. She wouldn't let her hurt anyone else.

"You're annoyingly persistant," Marzipan mused ruefully before raising her hand, almost as if she intended to slap Ichigo. The cat girl stood her ground, trembling violently from the intense pain. She wouldn't move. She...

"You _witch_!" Before Ichigo could even react, Kikyo came whipping by, running swiftly with her Fox Charm aimed out. She saw hate burning in the girl's eyes... "KAHIDRA _BLAST!"_

Marzipan looked up and easily disappeared from the blow, appearing only inches away from impact, unscathed. "Troublesome," she noted aloud, and then instead shot her hand across Kikyo's direction. The girl gasped from the sudden impact, but made no other sound. Frowning, Marzipan touched her foot to the ground and swiftly leapt forward, swinging her arms across in close range to Mew Kitsune. The inky acid splattered almost all across her body. Staring in a daze, the girl's weapon slipped limply from her hands before she fell, silently, her body hitting the grass without a word.

"_Kikyo_!" Ichigo cried out, dashing over and falling to her knees. The girl was unconsious. "Kikyo...Kikyo... _you guys_!" She cried, trying to get the acid off her body even as it burned at her hands. All the while Marzipan hovered idly behind her, watching with mild interest.

"...you're not helping them - "

"_Shut up_!" Ichigo yelled, stopping, her fists clutched against her lap as she watched Kikyo and the others helplessly, tears spilling from her eyes. She turned to face Marzipan angrily. "Just shut up! They're my friends... they mean so much to me! And you've hurt them," rising to her feet, her pink eyes misted with tears, her eyebrows drawn in anger, she held her weapon out, "and I'll _never forgive you_!"

Marzipan's eyes narrowed and she held her ground as well. The two held glares, until Ichigo finally regained enough focus so she could jump in for an attack. Summoning the energy to her Strawberry Bell, she jumped up into the air to gain so height on Marzipan, aiming straight down at her.

"Ribbon Strawberry _Check_!" She cried, and bursts of pink light flared out to the alien. She was unable to dodge quickly enough this time, and the attack enveloped her before disappearing, leaving her looking weakened, but angrier. As Ichigo landed quickly back on the ground, she had to take a moment to regenerate, keeping a distance from Marzipan.

"...you_ brat_," she hissed, and then clasped her acid-covered hands together so they seemed to melt into eachother, "Quit. _Interfering_!" Her voice boomed, and the power around her flared up more violently, her arms seeming to morph together to form a large blob of the acid. It swirled around, gathering energy, and Ichigo watched, holding her arms out before her to block them.

"_WITCH_!" She screamed, and a large glob og the acid shot through the air, right for her. Ichigo's eyes widened and she bent down, bounding off the ground with her cat reflexes into the air and away from the projectile coming straight to her. Luckily, it missed her, striking only the ground below her and forming a large pool of acid, eating away at the grass. As the cat girl felt gravity take its toll on her, she realized she couldn't get away from it. Focusing every ounce of her balance, she landed squarely on her feet in the pool. Almost immediately, she felt it eating through the soles of her boots and burning at her feet, so she shrieked and stumbled away, falling to her knees. Her feet tingled with the searing pain, and she still felt the heat ripping through her body, tearing her veins apart. Breathing heavily, Ichigo tried to keep her trembling body sitting upright as she stared at Marzipan through fearful eyes.

Pity. She saw a hint of pity, mercy flicker in the alien's dark eyes. The hope that caused was diminished almost immediately when the alien lifted her arms again, aiming straight for where Ichigo sat, immobolized. The globule of acid simply became larger, more focused, and she was ready to send it all eating away at Ichigo's body...

"_Mitsukai Ken_!" Ichigo only saw Marzipan's eyes strike wide open as a flurry of darkness struck her from all sides, knocking her to the ground with ease. Standing right behind her was a disgruntled Brooke, sword in hand, glowing with the unmistakable aura of the Dark Angel's power.

Gasping in pain, Marzipan pushed herself back up to glare at the angel, hate burning deep in her eyes. Then, appearing back on her feet, she lashed out at the girl, flinging her dangerous acid arms at her. A frown the only change on her face, Brooke swung her sword at such an angle to slice and disassemble any acid coming her way, save a few droplets landing soundly on her face. She was largely unaffected, however.

Staring in shock, Marzipan glowered and dashed forward, taking another swipe. Brooke sidestepped easily, sliding against the wall of the cafe. However, this seemed to be the alien's trap. Swinging her body around, she flung her arms forward, pressing them against Brooke's shoulders and pinning them to the wall. Brooke's dark eyes suddenly widened, wincing in pain, her teeth gritting together as she felt the large quantities of acid eating into her skin.

"Uh!" Not willing to see another one of her friends in mortal pain, Ichigo found the strength to jump up to her feet, pointing a shaky Bell in the alien's direction. "Marzipan! Get your hands off her!" She tried, making her voice sound much stronger than it felt.

Marzipan, to no surprise, didn't obey; her blue eyes simply flickered over to where Ichigo stood to make sure she wasn't trying an attack, keeping her acid palms pressed into Brooke's shoulders. But the angel saw her opening. Lifting her knee, she rammed it into the alien's gut and took advantage of the shock to swipe her with her sword, sending the girl stumbling back into the grass, with the wind knocked out of her. Turning determinedly back to Ichigo, Brooke cried out, "Ichigo! Now!"

Nodding, the cat girl clasped her Strawberry Bell, focusing and summoning the wings to perch lightly in the center. "Ribbon! Strawberry_ Surprise_!" She cried, and a huge burst of red light shot at the downed Marzipan. They heard the alien cry out in pain as the light had the same effects as the acid had on them, and when it faded, they saw her laying on the ground, her face more ghostly than ever, her eyes flinching still in pain.

"I..." She breathed shakily, lifting herself off the ground with normal arms and staring at the dead grass with blank eyes, "...failed...again..." Shutting her eyes in disappointment, she rippled away into the air, leaving only traces of her acid behind.

Ichigo wasted no time. Letting her Bell drop to the ground, she rushed over to the sides of her friends, checking to make sure they still had pulses. Most of them were unconsious, but the acid seemed to have worn off like a spell the instant Marzipan disapeared. The damage had certainly been done.

"...Ichigo..." The pink haired girl turned to see Brooke standing there solemnly, her shoulders blackened by the attack. Ichigo felt her fingers fleetingly touch her own arm, her nerves tingling unpleasantly at the touch. Looking back down at her friends, she sighed in relief, and turned to Brooke.

"Come on. We need to get them all inside."

--

_Next Chapter:_

_Wounds cannot heal without time and care. And with a temporary absense of threat, the Mews are given the chance to do so... or, at least, that's what they hope. With the six of them in rough conditions, it'll take a true hero to keep them safe and alive. Speaking of, who's that at the cafe's front door?..._


	21. Healers and Heroes

**xuri: **xP ... Bleh, this chapter is messed up. I had to edit and eliminate certain parts because of changes I made to earlier chapters, so little bits of this part are a bit confusing. Oh well. The end leads up to a major turning point - the next chapter will open the way for the three-chapter finale. After the giant oneshot, of course. ;3

Also - yaay! I finished the character drawings. ;D They will definitely be up on my profile by the time the next chapter comes out. Which is pretty darn perfect, since that's the only point where there are no more spoilers in terms of character and character identity. Whoot.

atemswhitetigermew: Yay, thank you x3 It's always cool to see people who've read this on 4kids reading this. It's probably a lot easier to keep track of, too. Whee. Thanks for the review.

SamKo: Haha, told you it wasn't the way you thought... xD And yeah, Marzipan is much lubbed_. -adds her name to the 'Ryou's Harem' list-_ So many questions, so little time... Or.. so much time. We still have five chapters to go. x3 Whoot. ;3

--

**Blend (chapter twenty-one)**

**..healers and heroes..**

"You next."

"Eh?" Ichigo looked at Ryou and frowned. "_I'm_ perfectly fine, in case you haven't noticed. _They're_ the ones who need care. You should be attending to them."

Sighing in frustration, Ryou stepped forward, and grabbed Ichigo firmly on the arm. The cat girl winced. "H-hey!" Ignoring her protest, the blond loosened his hold a bit, and held her arm out so she could see the huge gash along her shoulder blade and upper arm where the acid had spilled.

"You call this _'perfectly fine'?" _He growled.

She snatched her arm away. "It's nothing compared to the others. Kikyo and Brooke especially... they..."

The redhead paused and turned to look at her friends, who were all laid on improvised futons set across the cafe floor. Keiichiro sat by the door with a worried look, the large _'sorry, we're closed' _sign propped up against the window beside him. The blinds were drawn. The windows were locked. It was dark, but there were lights Ryou and him had allowed to be kept on.

Ichigo looked over her friends with worry, and was distracted for a moment before she felt a rough shove on the back. "Wuah!" Unable to catch her balance quickly enough, she hit the mushy futon on the floor, as Ryou bent over to pin her down. Glaring up at him, she struggled. "You _sicko! _Get off me!"

"Do you honestly think I would try something when Keiichiro's right there?" He muttered calmly, trying to unravel bandages and open up a packet of anisthetic with one hand while keeping Ichigo down with the other.

"This is _sexual harrassment_! _Rape_! Get _off_!" She cried angrily, trying to kick him. Ryou simply sighed and shifted out of her reach.

"I'll wrestle you if I have to," he warned, and then pressed a cloth soaked with alcohol and water against her arm wound. She winced in pain, but finally calmed down as he loosened his hold and finished cleaning her wounds, bandaging them up tightly. When he was finished, Ichigo sat up, trying to loosen the tie.

"You're cutting off my circulation," she muttered, and looked up at he stood to his feet.

"The others, they're in no condition to be going out," his blue eyes drifted to the unconsious girls asleep on the floor, "They'll heal soon enough, but they need to be resting for a long time. Are you sure you won't stay as well?" Ichigo blinked as he looked down at her sadly. "You'll be alone if the aliens come, you know. You'll have to be more cautious than usual..."

Ichigo looked genuinely worried for a moment, but let it disapear from her face as she just looked haughty. "Pfft. I don't see how that's possible. I already can't leave the Cafe or my house without constantly having an _escort."_

"Well, last night, when your '_escort'_," he said, referring to himself, "left, you got attacked, didn't you?"

Ichigo blinked. She was silent.

"_Didn't you_?"

Sighing in defeat, she slumped over. "Yes," she muttered, "but that's not the point. How can I just stay around here? I have to be able to protect them. I'd never forgive myself if anything more happened to Kona and the others..."

Ryou's eyes softened, and he glanced over at the others. "...I already can't forgive myself, for all the things I've put you and the others through," he said quietly, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "I don't think I could ever make amends at all if anything more serious happened. You're not the only one trying to protect them, Ichigo." His eyes shifted over to her, "And I'm just trying to protect _you_, too."

Ichigo was silent. Then, sighing, she stood to her feet, offering Ryou a half smile. "Look, I'm fine, alright? I'd just be wasting time if I stayed resting all day. If the aliens attack, I won't let them get to the others. You and Akasaka-san look after them here, 'kay?"

She couldn't read his face. Ryou just stood there for a moment, as if calculating, before he allowed his shoulders to slump while he turned around and pulled out a chair for himself. "Just... be careful, okay?" He mumbled, glancing warily over his shoulder at her. "I don't want you coming in here covered in blood. Watch out for yourself."

Ichigo smiled softly. Straightening out her skirt, she stepped past him, and paused before opening the door. "I will," she said with a firm nod.

"I promise."

--

"I don't believe this. I do not _frickin' _believe this!"

Instead of her usual, yelling tone, Ari's voice was weak and raspy. Like she was all yelled out for the day. Her eye was twitching, though, and her arms seemed unnaturally tensed as she stood in the doorway of the apartment, glaring hard into the room.

Hanajima had waited for her to move patiently, and with a light sigh went ahead and shoved past the blue haired alien, flipping the switch so dim light filled the wreck-of-a-room. Ari didn't even respond. She seemed stunned, angry, and ready to explode, all at once. Hanajima ignored the ticking time bomb and walked casually into the room, taking her usual spot on the old recliner in the corner. Once she'd settled there and leaned her head back in relaxation, she opened a relaxed eye.

"Welcome back, Marzipan."

Hearing confirmation that the purple haired alien was, indeed, sitting there in the middle of a room, on a stool with a twisted leg, her hands folded in her lap like nothing had changed. Like she'd been sitting there the _whole time_. If that was true, and Ari was simply going mad, she wouldn't have expected the girl to have earned herself so many bruises while sitting so _quietly_ in an _empty room _doing_ nothing_. She wouldn't have expected her arms, which were covered anyways, to look like they'd been burnt without blackening. But there she was.

Pressing a hand to her face, Ari wasn't sure if she should take a deep breath, or just leave and walk far, far away. Not that she held remorse about hitting the other alien. She deserved that much punishment. But she was too bewildered right now to throw anything, let alone use the effort to aim for Marzipan.

"Where_ were you_?" She asked instead. Not in a calm voice, by any means, but not at the top of her lungs, either. Marzipan simply stared back, void as ever.

"Fighting." Her voice was simple, in the tone people used when they said _'nothing' _when asked '_what are you doing_?' after being caught doing something wrong. Marzipan didn't look worried or guilty, though. Her blue eyes were glazed, empty. Surprise surprise.

Ari blinked. "_Fighting?"_

"Fighting."

"Don't you dare say _'fighting' _again," Hanajima muttered in an exasperated tone, getting comfortable where she sat and leaning back in her chair.

"Huh." Ari's eyes narrowed. "...who?"

"Momomiya Ichigo. Yashiku Kona. Mai Kikyo. Utayoko Yumi. Niwa Brooke. Hataru Roxi."

Ari was silent. Her finger twitched against the door, making a faint knocking sound. "_All of them_?"

"Yes. All of them."

"All of them. All of them. _Squawk_. Polly wanna cracker?" Hanajima mocked, fluffing up her pillow and shoving it beneath her head. Ari and Marzipan ignored them. They were staring at eachother, trying to figure it out.

"Did you actually_ fight?"_

"Yes. I actually fought."

Hanajima groaned. "Oh for _God's _sake..."

Ari bit her lip, her eyes still narrowed. Then, rubbing the back of her head, she turned on her heel and walked out the door.

"Now where are_ you _going?" Hanajima didn't sound like she really cared, but was tired of feeling like she was on the outside of some inside joke.

"Out. To see if she only beat herself up with a stool." Ari said soundly, and, casting a suspicious glance at Marzipan, disappeared out the door.

--

"Roxi and Yumi aren't here today..."

"Yeah, I noticed. You work with them, right, Ichigo?"

"Eh?" Ichigo glanced up from where she'd been staring at her arm. She'd told two lovely but completely different stories about her large bandaging job today in a fit of ditziness, and was trying to figure out how she could connect them together without raising suspision. "Oh. Right. I think they caught something, you know?... Roxi was pretty tired looking yesterday, and she and Yumi probably hung out a lot that day. Contagious, most likely."

So, it wasn't the best. But it was better than_ 'I broke it_!' and '_Spilled hot coffee on it. Ouch, huh_?'. She desperately hoped the two girls she'd told those two different explainations to didn't run into eachother and discuss it. Though, knowing her luck with things like that, they probably would.

"Hau, that's too bad," Miwa said in disappointment, nodding. Then, looking over at Ichigo with curious wide eyes, she pointed at her arm. "What'd you do, by the way? The casting job is kind of sloppy... did you go to that out of town hospital or something?"

"Ahm... ahaha," Ichigo laughed nervously, which didn't answer either question. She was trying to decide which excuse was more believable. That, and she was planning out how she might rag on Ryou for doing such a bad job on covering up her wounds. _Nice going, Shirogane. Like it isn't hard enough already._

"Oh, nevermind that, Miwa," Moe was suddenly distracted, and grabbed her brunette friend by the arm, "Look, Minako-chan's got some new girls with her! I bet they're transfer. Let's go,"

Ichigo sweatdropped as the two darted away, unsure of whether they'd ditched her on purpose, or just forgotten about her. Neither would be surprising. Sighing, she rubbed her temple. She had one last class to get through - Science.

The subject name always had a certain chill to it. Even though Ari and Hanajima - or Chiyako-san and Mrs. Kazuhawa - hadn't shown up in that room for a long time now, it felt like a forbidden place. Somewhere danger was always lurking. Of course, ever since her outburst, neither one seemed to have shown up... that would have made keeping track of them far too easy, of course. And Ichigo knew how Ari enjoyed complicating her life.

But two people suddenly disappearing - almost at the same time, no less - brought up a lot of questions. For a while, the administration hadn't been able to figure out what had happened, let alone quickly and efficently replace a Science professor. Minako especially, along with a gaggle of girls who tended to swarm around new students, mourned the loss of Chiyako Ari, wherever it was she'd gone. But Ichigo had always been glad. Even if it meant a constant shift of teachers, and never getting word from the staff about the teacher situation, as long as there were no aliens and no threat, she was happy. The constant chaos seemed so frequent that Ichigo never thought they'd get everything under control.

Although, when she stepped into the classroom -

- a man stood at the front.

Oi. This had stirred quite a reaction from the class. Mostly students questioning things like "Hmm, the last time he came in here like that..." and trailed off when he glared at them. They had a point, though. Ichigo remembered the last time the headmaster came into the class - that had been when their previous Science professor had gotten into an _'accident' _and was being replaced. So. They'd finally gotten around to it.

Maybe it was a sign? Maybe this event represented the fact that Ari and Hanajima had finally given up... and were finally gone?

Ah, but that was being_ waaay _too hopeful, wasn't it?

But, Ari wasn't here, Hanajima wasn't here. If they truly wanted to get revenge, to torment her, wouldn't this be a perfect place? Maybe they had gone back, after all. Maybe all this was done with, all this struggle and suffering, and her and the girls could finally go back to normal. She hadn't even thought a day like that would ever come. It was too good to be true, so she kept her guard up.

But, just maybe, it was finally over...

--

Noon. 12:00. There was a knock at the front door.

Ryou jumped in his seat, where he'd fallen asleep. Realizing this, he scolded himself, but quickly got up from the chair and checked on the girls. They were all sound asleep, still, not having moved an inch from where they'd been before. That was good. Most of them looked to be peaceful, now, instead of in unconsious pain. The healing process was speeding along normally, then.

He turned his attention to the door and frowned. Who would that be? Keiichiro was downstairs, and Ichigo was at school._ Supposed _to be at school, but he had yet to see the girl skip class to _work_ more. Taking a double check, he saw the closed sign was still propped neatly up in clear view.

So, who would it be?

Cautiously, the blonde stepped away from the chair and towards the door, stopping there and listening. He didn't hear anything suspicious, like giggles. There _had _been girls here, from time to time, that kept smothering him and calling him '_cutie_', no matter how much he tried to ignore them so they'd go away. Sighing in exhaustion, but giving in just because he wanted to see some sunlight at least once today, he unlocked the door and pulled it open and inch to see outside.

"Oh," recognizing a face, he stepped back and pulled it further open, raising an eyebrow in estranged greeting. "Yo. Shinta."

The boy standing there looked to be about his age, with black hair and bluish eyes, a golden band poking out from beneath the wrist of his sleeve. He grinned. "Hey, Ryou. What's up?"

"Er, nothing new," suddenly remembering the array of '_patients_' inside, he narrowed the opening of the door. Luckily, Shinta hadn't seemed to see anything. "What are you doing here? The cafe's closed today."

"So I saw," his eyes shifted over to the sign with a nod, and then back at Ryou. "I haven't gotten a chance to catch up with you lately. You've been busy, haven't you?"

Ryou shrugged. "You could say that," after all, there wasn't much spare time when one had red haired girls knocking on the door at the dead of night or strange purple haired customers asking for home made brownies, "Guess it's just been a busy season. It's closed today so we can all have a little break before getting back to work."

"Not a bad idea," Shinta agreed with a slight nod. Then, shifting his weight to his left foot, he leaned to the side as if he intended to see what was behind the door. Ryou quickly stepped into his way, and, though the boy frowned, he looked the other light-heartedly in the eye.

"Mind if I come in? You don't have to make me anything, really. I'd just like to talk. It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has," the blonde agreed almost reluctantly, still in Shinta's way of sight, "but today's not a great day. Actually, I've been catching up on my sleep - these cafes involve some late nights cleaning, you know? I wouldn't want to catch any of those bugs going around. Neither do you, so you might not want to be around me much just in case I've already got a case of something."

Did he buy it? Ryou couldn't tell. Shinta didn't seem reluctant or believing, so Ryou didn't know whether to stick to his story and say _'goodbye' _or grow on it to sound more convincing. Finally, though, the boy nodded.

"I see." Taking a step back, he straightened the edge of his shirt as a habit and glanced over at Ryou, still with friendly smile, "Some other time. I'll tell one of those pretty waitresses to get you the next time I drop by." Offering a small wave, he put a hand in his pocket and headed back down the walk.

"See you," Ryou called back, and promptly shut the door. Sighing, he rubbed his head, feeling as if all the cover-up was getting a great deal on his nerves. Though, he had seen his light for the day, so he couldn't complain. And, so long as the girls stayed asleep and safe, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to catch up on some z's.

On that note, he pulled up the same chair and slumped down in it, staring at the girls through half-lidded eyes. They were his responsibility, since their suffering was partly his fault, after all. But besides that... they were important to him. They were _family_ to him.

As he felt his head becoming light with sleep, he knew that was true. And you didn't abandon family, whether their pain was your fault or not.

--

"It's shaping up to be a great day,"

Ichigo said to herself cheerfully as she headed down the sidewalk. Did having a notion of forever-gone aliens bring her so much joy? Apparently, it did. And as she walked down the street towards the Cafe at her own pace, she decided she wouldn't let anything or anyone wreck her mood. Nuh uh. No way.

So she tried not to think about the burn on her arm. Or how little it was compared to her friends, compared to the girls that had saved her and she'd saved in turn countless times. That was all the more reason to be grateful, wasn't it? If they were awake, they wouldn't want her moping around and sulking. At least, that was Ichigo's logic. It was better to be bright and cheery than it was to be gloomy.

As she went on forward, though, she caught sight of someone else on the sidewalk. It wasn't an unusual thing - it was a busy part of town, after all - but as she looked at him approaching, or her approaching him, rather, it gave her a weird feeling. "Deja vu," she mumbled, and continued on. Though, as they silently passed one another, Ichigo's eyes drifted to the side to see her gaze was met by the other, as well. She nearly jumped.

"Hello," he said pleasantly, and she could only stare back in return. Both had stopped walking. What was this? Did he get that weird feeling too, like they'd met before? But, he didn't look as creeped out as Ichigo felt. In fact, he looked only happy to be coming across another person, some social interaction.

"Uhm, hi," Ichigo managed, though before she could even think to properly introduce herself as one might do in a situation like this, there was a loud crashing noise. Crumbling, slowing down, Ichigo tried to turn to see what had happened but was immediately pushed out of the way, not roughly, but firmly. Once she'd gathered her wits again, her amber eyes flickered upon discovering a large section of a fence having fallen over where she'd been previously standing, a breathlessly shocked boy holding her by the shoulders after pushing her to safety.

"By the_ gods_!" All hope that had built up in Ichigo came crashing down when she heard that voice. And stepping out from behind the fence was a girl, or rather, _Ari Chiyako_, dressed as a normal student, though holding one of her daggers in hand. Her dark blue eyes were glinted with specks of gold, her lips pulled into an enourmous grin as if she took great joy in seeing Ichigo.

But all Ichigo felt was _doom, doom, doom._

Letting out a whooping laugh, she seemed to ignore the fact there was a boy standing right there, staring at her. Although there was no '_who are you_?' like Ichigo might have expected. Just uncomfortable silence. "So the little puppy wasn't lying through her teeth, after all! Ichigo-neko -" The redhead cried out as a flash of bronze suddenly whizzed by, cutting her sleeve wide open and exposing the skin beneath. Ari stood beside her, grinning from ear to ear.

"A little bruised up, are you?" The blue haired alien continued boldly, looking absolutely overjoyed at seeing her bandaged up injury, "I'm not sure whether you should consider it an insult to your strength, for such a _weakling_ to cause damage like this," before Ichigo could even move back, the alien girl grabbed her arm, tightly, right around the raw wound. She cried out in pain, and the alien's grin only widened.

"...tell me, are your little friends in _more_ pain? Is that why they're not here?" She whispered, tightening her grip on the arm. Ichigo tried yanking away, but she felt the burnt skin beneath the bandage burning, searing, and she had to blink back tears of pain.

"Get away from her."

Stopping, but not letting go of the arm, Ari looked up and to the side to see a black haired boy standing there, his blue eyes serious. She stared at him for a moment, frowning deeply, while Ichigo tried to loosen the alien's grip and thus diminish the intense pain. "...you..." Ari tried, her voice searching, puzzled, but her confused expression turned to one of anger.

"So sorry. Wrong place, wrong time, boy. You understand, don't you?" Her voice lacked the sympathy her words should have carried as she let go of Ichigo and promptly shoved her aside, holding her free hand wide open and inviting her other sai to rest in her palm. Tapping her foot on the ground, her facade-appearence flickered away, leaving the golden-eyed alien standing there, boredly infuriated. "Bye bye," she said simply before darting forward, moving her arms to make one clean and deadly swipe at the boy.

"Ughuu!" Ichigo grunted as her body hit the ground, feeling pain especially in her arm where it was knocked against the cement. Catching her breath, the redhead pushed herself up just in time to see the blue haired alien run at the boy, ready to take him down._ N-no! _Before she could even cry out, there was a collision, and everything began moving so fast she could barely make it out. Pain from her arm made her wince again, and Ichigo looked down to see that blood was showing up through the bandaging. "A-unnn..."

"Heh?" It should have been simple. Effortless. A human teenager couldn't stand up to her speed, to her attacks - and yet, as she ran, and moved her arms to slash, they cut only through air. Momentarily stunned, she could do nothing to prevent a rough hit to the side, sending her off balance and against the fence with an '_oomph'. _He stood there, expression stone hard and serious, blue eyes narrowed.

"Y-you little..." Pulling herself up from the fence, fire burned in Ari's eyes. This was no longer about him simply being a witness to get rid of. He'd messed with her, played her for a fool - now she would make his death as painful as possible. She'd given him a chance for a merciful leave. But now it was personal.

Striking a defensive stance, he refused to lower the glare he held towards her. Once Ichigo had regained her senses, she saw how confident he was. Not afraid, like she'd been when she first encountered an alien. Not at all shocked or confused. Just... determined. To what? Any normal person would have wanted to get away. But he just stood there, staring her down, like he intended to ---

"Don't _meddle_!" Her voice rang out, and snapping her wrists together, she produced a long narrow spiral of flame right for his feet. As if he were a sack of feathers, he jumped narrowly to the side and ducked, gliding smoothly along like a breeze. Ichigo watched in awe, but realized he wouldn't be able to stand up long. He was just human... _she_ was the one with animal-fused powers.

"Mew Mew Strawberry, Metamorpha_-sis_!" At the flash of pink, a scowl appeared on Ari's face. Already, she was at a clear disadvantage - what a bother. Kicking it into high gear, she swivelled on her ankle and swiftly sidestepped, knocking her elbow against the back of the boy's neck to temporarily stun him. Then, with another movement, the alien jolted forward, bringing her knives together and striking them apart at Ichigo. She caught them with her Strawberry Bell just in time, feeling her movement being pressed backwards.

"Unn...gh!" Gasping, she tried to keep her grip up, but she felt it slipping. The pressure on her arm was doing no good. She couldn't hold Ari back long enough to make an attack. And that boy.. he was only going to get hurt if she gave Ari another opening to attack.

So, what else was there to do -

- but run.

"Nya!" Suddenly ducking, Ichigo felt Ari's feet knock against her knees in an effort to trip to alien, before she rolled to her feet and sprinted back in the direction of the cafe. She would create distance between them. She would lure Ari away, keep her away from the boy, keep him out of danger. Already he'd seen too much... she wouldn't endanger his life as well.

She must have only been able to run for fifteen seconds before she felt Ari ram her in the back. Ichigo barely even felt the total impact when she heard the alien -- "Caught you!" -- and was knocked over. She refused to fall. It tore the bandages off her arm and nearly ripped the wound open, but the cat girl caught herself on crossed arms, pushed her body across in somersault position, and was back up on her feet to run. Only, her heart was beating so fast and pain was flashing through her body so rapidly she could barely keep her vison straight...

Ari wasn't happy at all. That had been twice that day she'd been effectively dodged - no, that was enough to not only spark her temper, but send it into a full out inferno. Gritting her teeth, Ari skidded to a halt as Ichigo ran on. She saw a few droplets of blood spatter onto the sidewalk, and her eyes lazily fell upon the badly wounded arm. Ari grinned. There, she had a target.

"Kishu-sama... I'll break the witch's spell!" She whispered, and, clenching her fists tightly, blue flame engulfed her sais and she faded into the air without a trace.

Ichigo kept running, running. She didn't mean to go to the cafe. No, she hadn't meant that at all; and now as she realized she was approaching it, she'd wished she gone the other way. The last thing the girl wanted was to involve the others in this. Besides, they probably couldn't even wake up yet.

_I have to get past_. She decided to herself breathlessly, and picked up speed. Pain ripped through her body, but she did her very best to ignore it. She didn't know what to do once Ari caught up. If she was lucky, the alien would tire of her, leave her alone. It didn't matter right now - all that did was that she got past the cafe without getting the others involved.

And then, to her horror, the air before her seemed to tear open. Before she could turn, swerve, dodge, even gasp, there stood Ari, her eyes glinting with unbridled glee as she held both arms at different angles, bronze knives glinting in the sunlight. Ichigo didn't even get a chance to crash. It was one hit, hard and square in the chest, her shoulders cut open. Her mind suddenly went numb. She had no control over the scream that escaped her mouth, of pent up agony and suffering. It rang clear through the air as her body crumpled against the ground with a '_thump_'. And then her voice died away on the air like there had been no sound at all.

--

Kona's eyes snapped open.

And she instantly regretted it.

Somehow, sleep brought comfort as well as a lovely numbness. The kind that completely blocked out the memories of the intense pain, as well as the current state. And now that she was so suddenly consious again, Kona could feel the fire that coarsed through her. Gasping for air, she buried her face in her arms, muffling the cry that escaped her lips. Her head felt raw, though the burns had faded away leaving only redness. But it felt like they were still there. It was like her face was covered in bruises, and had the skin torn off like a bandaid.

"It...hurts..."

So why had she woken up in the first place? Why couldn't she just keep in that place where it was completely blank and without feeling? Then Kona remembered, pulling it from her memory easily. A scream. A glass-shattering scream. It would have been bad enough on its own, hearing something that loud and filled with terror, but she recognized it right away.

_Ichigo_. Ichigo had screamed.

Sitting upright - even though pain jolted once more through her in protest - Kona tried to focus her vision to see where she was. It was strange to see the cafe so dark. But that was where she was - the cafe. Ryou was slumped over in his chair, asleep, and, by the looks of it, neither him or the others had been disturbed by the scream. It must have had something to do with her cat senses.

_Ichigo._

Remembering her friend who was probably now in danger, the black haired girl pushed herself up from the ground, wincing in pain. Taking a shaky breath, she looked at Ryou, who was still sound asleep, and murmured a silent apology before staggering quietly out the door.

--

"This is turning out better than I thought,"

Ari mused with joy, staring down at the fallen Ichigo with mirth soaked on her face. Ichigo could barely move, herself; breathing was even just a struggle. The alien was brimming with obvious confidence, not even having to restrain the cat girl. "Down for the count," she said decidedly, and then ran her fingers along the sharp edge of her dagger. She grinned. "I can finish this now. What a delightful surprise!"

"Ribbon Blossom _Shine_!"

The grin was wiped off her face as light struck her from behind, both of her sais scattered from her hand. Whipping around, the alien was faced with Kona. Or... a rather scraggly looking Kona. Then girl was bent over with her bell barely in hand, panting for air, her eyebrows creased in pain. For a moment, Ari stared at her angrily. Then, it turned to amazement.

"Oh, she got you too?" Moving her fingers, a purplish flame engulfed her arms suddenly, the light reflecting in her golden eyes. She was grinning from ear to ear, "Marzipan's been a busy girl, hasn't she? If only she'd pulled such a great trick while Hanajima and I were here!"

Kona gritted her teeth, but suddenly looked to be in a great deal of pain as she bent over and coughed, her chest tightening and her breating quickening. Ari took this as her chance and rushed forward, swiping at the girl with her arms, letting out a laugh. This was truly exhilirating for her, like a breath of fresh spring air.

"Ugh!" Kona caught on in time, leaping backwards but just barely catching her balance. Even without her sais, Ari had developed great power over her control of flame. This was not good. After Kona dodged the first attack, she felt another pang in her chest, which nearly made her double over. Ari struck first.

"Huaaahggg!" And she knew just where to strike - one of the alien's arms slammed her across the chest, the other swiping right across her face. The flame was fleeting, going out instantly, but it left its mark of intense pain. Kona could barely breath as she, too, was taken down, head limp against the sidewalk as she struggled to stay consious.

"Kitten one, kitten two..." she murmured, the flames extinguishing themselves as she stepped back over to them. Ari grinned. "I've won the grand prize!"

As she knelt down and reached over, her hands sparked shades of blue and purple. The quickened sound of footsteps startled and interupted her.

"Eh? You again?" Upon looking up, Ari frowned at seeing the black haired boy having returned, panting and glaring at her furiously. "That's right. I didn't take care of you, but I guess Ichigo-neko's example wasn't great enough, was it?"

Panting, Shinta glared up at her. Her focus had shifted to something else, however. More specifically, the golden ring around his wrist. "Get away..."

His eyes fell over to where both girls were lying, unable to move against the great force and pain that was keeping them pinned down. Shinta's blue gaze drifted over to where Kona was laying, her frame shaking uncontrollably as she feebly tried to get back up on her feet. His eyes shifted back to Ari angrily, and he struck a fighting stance.

"You're just as stubborn as the rest of them," she hissed, though her eyes were focused more, once again, on the band around Shinta's wrist, which had now started glowing, and emitting a light. He stared unfalteringly at her, the golden light glinting off his blue eyes.

"Stubborn or not," his voice echoed as the golden light engulfed him, Ari having to squint to protect her vision, "I will not allow you to hurt them anymore."

Once the golden light dissipated into the air, Ari's eyes widened in surprise. "...you!" Her jaw clenched together and she felt her fists tighten as she took a subconsious step backwards, though her glare did not lower itself from his face. She smirked uneasily, "I thought there was something familiar about you. Once a meddler, always a meddler..."

His white uniform flowed uneasily in the wind as he stared, silently, without a word. Then, in perfect quiet, he drew one of his blades from its sheath, not breaking the glare he held on Ari.

"What's your name again? _'Elemental Swordsman'_? Really, boy," she shook her head sadly, holding a hand out with a cocky expression, "You need to be more creative. It's really a mouthful. Why don't you just shorten it to '_Court Jester'_? Because if you're going to pursue a battle with me, that's all it will turn out to be. You'll have to be quick if you want to keep me entertained..."

"_Tsuki Ken_!" He shouted, and sprang forward on his feet with the sword oustretched at his side. Darkness plunged from the blade as he swung, wrapping Ari up in an abyss of black. Shinta landed back on his feet again, breathless, charging for another attack.

However, the darkness suddenly flared out as a blue light from within was visible. "I'm bored, boy!" No sooner than the voice had erupted than Ari burst from within the energy, her entire body accumulating the blue and purple flame. Her golden eyes were filled with maniacal glee.

Catching his breath in surprise, Shinta leapt backwards, Ari only managing to scorch the larger portion of the cloak that was blown about his shoulders. Gritting his teeth, the swordsman drew the blade that rested in the sheath at his other side, and held them both in the air.

"You're wasting your time!" Ari yelled, and, springing off to the side, retrieved her two daggers easily. Holding one in her mouth and the other with the tip touching her fingers, she grinned and shot forward. "You've lost all your chances, boy! _It's the end of your line_!" Wind rushing at her face, she brought her arm back and slashed, though her was able to duck with ease. Letting the sai skid from her hand, she let the one in her mouth drop to her already-positioned hand. Already having closed the distance between them, all she needed to do was thrust her wrist forward to send it plunging into his gut.

Shinta was completely stunned, at first. Then, reacting to the pain, he lifted his knee to kick Ari and sent her quite a few paces back, clutching at his stomach wound. Breathing heavily, in one swift movement, he brought both blades into the air, summoning a quick and powerful attack.

_"Nibai Mizu Dageki_!" With two quick arm movements, he was able to create two seperate air waves of water, which shot at Ari and engulfed her, knocking her to the ground in a heap. The water cleared quickly enough, but she sat there, sputtering, gasping for air. Her entire body was shaking, weakened. One of Shinta's swords had fallen from his hand, but the other he held out while clutching his bleeding gut, not backing down from his position.

"You--!" Ari silently cursed, coughing up more water and gasping for air. She couldn't fight anymore, and was to drenched to summon any more fire. For some odd reason, she crawled forward, lifting her head to face Shinta. He was alarmed to see a smile on her face.

"We'll part ways," she breathed, and he only just realized it was too late to stop her from wrapping her arms around Kona and Ichigo who'd she'd landed right by. She smirked, "But I've claimed my prize."

And before he could do anything, she faded off into the air with a ripple, taking both girls along with her.

"Kona! Ichi--" He tried to run forward, but succumbed to the pain and instead fell to his knees. Doubled over in pain with his arms clutched around his stomach, he breathed heavily, gritting his teeth as he tried to stop the bleeding. But that wasn't his concern. Ari had taken Kona, Kona and Ichigo. They were wounded. And she was angry.

"N-no..."

--

_Next Chapter:_

_Ari's got everyone just where she wants them. With Kona and Ichigo at the tips of her fingers, will she finally complete her revenge? More importantly, why have Marzipan and Hanajima stopped backing her up? An identity is finally revealed to the girls, but how will they handle this information on top of everything else? Rescuing them is going to be tricky. Keeping them from dying at a vengeful alien's hands is going to be even trickier._


	22. Tracing Destinies

**xuri:** Heheheh. xD I really should be talking about the many important things this chapter leads to. I really should. Instead, I'm going to rant over the fact that the PICTURES ARE NOW UP! x3 And no, they're not gorgeous or anything. Just basic. The best I could do. Plus, they're significantly improved versions of the sketches I made when I first wrote this fic, which seemed good at the time, but now I just had to redo every last character. x3 They're all linked up on my profile, so check 'em out and tell me what you think!

And, I'm sorry about the delay. ;3 I had this chapter done days ago, but I was insistant on having the pictures up to... Teehee. Sorries.

Mew of Fire: xD Nuuu! Don't blow Ari up with a tank! Who will add conflict to the story? Who? I ask, who? x3 True, though. She's a li'l bit naughty. After the fic's over, I should just give her a time out. ;3 Tsk tsk.

SamKo: Yes, well. The only thing I'm willing to answer was something that, unfortunately, wasn't a huge plot twist or anything. xD And that would be that Ari just took Kona n' Ichigo because she _could. _Ari's a nasty little thing, she is. ;3 And the rest of your marvelous questions will be answered, particularily in the stunning (xD) three chapter finale to come. Yaay. And, o-o, wow. I'm setting records here. xD _-feels proud for some strange reason-_

_--_

**Blend (chapter twenty-two)**

**..tracing destinies..**

The world was still spinning when Ichigo opened her eyes. So she closed them again.

A great deal of good _that _did.

Groaning, she realized the pain wouldn't go away no matter how tightly she squeezed her eyes shut, so she forced herself to wake up. Her vision wasn't even clearing. She decided that was fine for now, and slowly pushed herself upright, gasping at the pain that seemed to stretch her bones right apart.

"Ow... Shirogane..." she was only able to make out, prepared to complain to him about the crummy job he did on bandaging her up. Scratch that. As her gloved hand found its way to her arm, she realized there wasn't a bandage _at all, _and quickly yanked it away. Oh, now he would _really_ get it.

Finding that her chest was tight and she felt completely drained and exhausted, Ichigo detransformed in a flash of blue, rubbing her eyes in hopes of getting them cleared. The bed wasn't very comfortable, but she figured that was because all the others were using all the futons in the Cafe. She'd let that one slide. But there was _a lot _more she could complain about.

Closing her eyes one more time, Ichigo tried to clear her vision up, rubbing her head. Ugh, she was sore all over. The least he could have done was put some cream on or something. She'd have to ask Keiichiro if _he_ would be in charge of all this next time, instead of some incompetent blonde who couldn't make life easier for his 'slave' driven Mew girls.

"...Eh?"

As she opened her eyes again, though, she did _not_ see the little heart shaped chairs or windows. She did _not _see futons and blankets spread across the floor. No Ryou, or Keiichiro, or any of the girls. As she pulled her hand away from her head, she looked around, but nothing looked even remotely like Cafe Mew Mew. It was all just... blackness.

"Where... _am_ I?"

--

Hadn't he locked the doors?

Ryou nearly fell right out of his chair when he heard the cafe doors swing open. Immediately, he realized he'd been sleeping, and scolded himself heavily for it, but turned his attention immediately back to the doors which were wide open. And standing there, in the light, was a figure.

"Who's there?" The blonde shouted, leaping up. From the different angle, he could make out the face. His eyes widened in alarm.

"_Shinta?"_

No, how could that be him? He was dressed all in white, with swords at his side, and... Ryou stiffened. He was covered in blood. His blood. He was clutching at his stomach, looking weakly up at the other with half lidded eyes. Gasping for air, a small smile appeared on his face.

"Hey... Ryou..."

And he fell to the ground without uttering another word.

--

About an hour later, the lights were on again. After Shinta had passed out, Ryou had called Keiichiro, and the two of them had managed to stop the bleeding and bandage him up. Luckily, the stab wound hadn't gone as deeply as it had at first seemed - there was a bit of a diagonal cut to it, giving the appearence that a vital organ had been hit. This was not the case. Shinta had lost plenty of blood from just that, however, but within another thirty minutes was consious again. And, from all the commotion, so were the girls.

"Ichigo-san and Kona-san were taken?" Keiichiro exclaimed, worry written on his face. Ryou sat beside him, looking absolutely dazed, staring down at the table with mixed expressions.

Taking a shaky breath, Shinta nodded. "Yes. That Ari girl... after she wounded me," he motioned towards his bandaged torso, "she grabbed hold of the two and disappeared with them. I couldn't stop her, it was my fault she got away..." His fists clenched in his lap, but Keiichiro shook his head and quickly muttered some assuring words.

"...and now where are they?" Kikyo asked solemnly, staring at Shinta through concerned eyes. His own shut.

"I don't know," He admitted, shaking his head, "I... I don't know."

"Ichigo-chan..." Roxi sniffled, trying to brush the tears away from her eyes, "...Kona-chan, too. I really hope they're alright..."

Silence followed that. Everyone wanted to assure her - to assure_ themselves _- but the truth was, no one even _knew_ where Kona and Ichigo even _were_. So how could they know whether they were okay or not? It was more than just a small possibility that something very bad had happened. The problem was, they didn't know what they could do about it.

"Shinta."

Everyone looked up to see Brooke standing beside her futon, her expression serious and drawn. Ryou stood up from his chair promptly.

"Brooke, lie back down," he commanded, though he looked weaker than he usually did, "You're in no state to be up like that. Your wounds haven't even healed. You're going to tear them open --"

"Would you rather," she asked in a brisk tone, her icy eyes holding Ryou's gaze unfalteringly, "that we leave Ichigo and Kona to the mercies of the aliens?" Silence. "Let me remind you how many times that girl has made it clear she wants Momomiya Ichigo _killed_."

Ryou didn't move. Then, after a long moment of quiet, he retreated back to his chair, sitting back down uneasily and casting a wary glance back at the girl. "Don't push it," he warned, but did not protest any further.

Closing her eyes momentarily, Brooke nodded, and then turned to face Shinta directly. "Right now, we need to deal with _you_," her wing seemed tensed as she levelled an icy glare, though not one of hate, towards the boy, "_Elemental Swordsman_."

_"...Eh?"_

The girls practically cried out in surprise, all turning their heads to stare at the boy in question. Even Ryou looked at him, surprise etched on his face. Shinta smiled weakly.

"It's nice to see you recognize me," he did not seem at all surprised, however, or alarmed by her '_accusation_'. Instead, he sat up straight, looking the girl straight in the eye, a sort of fondness reflecting in his own,

"Brooke."

--

Ichigo lifted her hands, grabbed the fleshy part of her cheeks between her fingers, and pulled. Not a pleasant sensation, having your cheeks pinched and pulled apart. This was not good, either way. One, it hurt.

Two, she was_ not _waking up.

Rubbing her eyes, and finding that had no effect either, Ichigo felt completely isolated from information. Where was she?_ I don't know_. Why was she here?_ I don't know_. When had she gone unconsious_? I don't --_

Wait. Wait, she_ could _answer that question. As her head began to clear itself, she remembered - Ari. She and Ari had fought. But she'd been attacked, and... Ichigo felt her heart thump nervously. And that was all she could remember.

"Shirogane?..."

She tried, but her voice only echoed. No. This was definitely _not _the cafe. Her heart rate quickened.

"Akasaka-san? Yumi?" Still nothing. Her voice became panicked, "Roxi? Brooke? Kikyo!_ Kona_!"

She was at the point of yelling, feeling her breathing become quick and light with fear. Where were they? Why was she alone? Her chest tightened and she felt like she'd been enclosed into a small space, one where she couldn't move or breath or do anything -

"...Ichigo?"

--

Shinta held his arm out. "See this?"

"Araaaa, a bracelet," Yumi concluded matter-of-factly at seeing the golden band around his wrist. He smiled softly, and gave a half-nod.

"Yes. This _arm band_," he corrected, sitting up straight, "was found with me after I was abandoned by my parents. It has my name - _Aoiya Shinta _- carved into it. It's the only thing I had from my parents, aside from a large sum of yen they left with me."

This got a sad response from the '_audience_', but he just shook his head. "It's alright. I don't remember much about my parents anyways. I was taken in by an orphanage, and then foster parents who lived in this town. When I was just little, I met Ryou."

There was a pause. Then everyone turned to look at the blonde, who seemed to suddenly have a flash of memory.

"Oh, yeah, now I remembe---"

"Why didn't you tell us you _knew _the Elemental Swordsman?" Roxi burst in excitement, her eyes almost glittering. The rest looked less than pleased that such a secret had been kept from them. Ryou blinked and quickly shook his head.

"I didn't know it was him, and, er, Shinta and I haven't exactly seen eachother for -"

"Whatever," Kikyo interupted, and then swivelled around to face Shinta again, "You were saying?"

There was a little grin on his face from the whole spectacle he'd just viewed, but his expression returned to normal and serious upon Kikyo's request. Nodding, he went on.

"I went through a lot. This arm band, though - or bracelet," he smiled at Yumi assuringly, "has been the only real part of my past that I've been able to keep with me. My parents, or someone, had my name carved into it, but aside from that, there's always been a little dent. I've always thought it was just an impression from damage, or maybe a defect, but..."

Shinta held up his wrist to demonstrate. The girls all leaned in closer to see where he was pointing, to the '_dent' _he'd been talking about. Only, instead of a dent, there was a jewelled surface, in the jagged shape of a sword.

"Where did you get that?" Brooke asked bluntly, her arms folded over her chest. Shinta looked up at her with a nod, pulling his arm down,

"Two years ago, I saw Ryou wandering along the streets, looking for something. It had been so many years since we'd last seen eachother, but I recognized him immediately. He disappeared before I could catch up to him, though, but I found something else sitting nearby. It was some strange glowing substance, hidden in the crack of a wall. I think it might have been what Ryou was looking for,"

"The Mew Aqua," Keiichiro said suddenly, and everyone turned to look at the surprised brunette.

"Mew...Aqua?" Yumi sounded out slowly.

"That's what it's called? _'Mew Aqua'?" _Shinta asked curiously, and then looked down at his wrist again, "When I took it into my hands, it changed shape, to perfectly fit in indent of my wristband. And then there was this light, and I'd transformed into the Elemental Swordsman, with these powers and this other presence in my mind that was able to use the attacks."

"I ran into Shinta a few months ago at the cafe," Ryou said suddenly with a grim nod, "But I had no idea about any of that. It had been a hectic day, but you said you wanted to talk to me about something. So I promised we would catch up some other time, and all you had to do was drop by."

Shinta smiled. "Yeah. Only, this place has been pretty busy lately anyways, so I never got a chance to tell you about all this."

There was suddenly silence again, as everyone absorbed all this information. Then, Brooke stepped forward, carefully keeping her balance so she didn't trigger any pain, and made firm eye contact with the boy who'd finished speaking.

"_You'll _help us. We need to get Ichigo and Kona back."

"How?" Kikyo challenged, looking up at the Dark Angel with a grimace, "Shinta said they disappeared. Ari could have taken them anywhere, or even to some seperate _dimension_. How are we supposed to know?"

Brooke closed her eyes for patience, and didn't utter a word. Then, opening them again, she said, "I have an idea."

--

Ichigo whipped to the side. "_Kona?"_

There she was, slumped right next to her. Both of them looked to be in about the same condition, only Kona seemed to be faring far worse. Her bandages had come loose in the battle, exposing the raw, burnt, scarcely healed wounds that mostly placed themselves on her face and neckline. Ichigo only had her arm to worry about, and that was bad enough. She couldn't imagine what kind of pain Kona must be going through.

"It's not," somehow, through all that difficulty, Kona managed to let forth a tiny, weak smile, "an illusion, is it? Are_ you_?"

The black haired girl had already detransformed. Ichigo wondered how long she'd been awake. Seeing the severity of her wounds, Ichigo wouldn't have been surprised if it would have been impossible for the girl to fall asleep in the first place. The cat girl quickly shook her head. "No. No, of course not. Are you alright?"

Kona seemed to be having trouble breathing. "Yeah. No worse than I've been for the past few days, at least."

Ichigo's eyebrows drew together in worry, and she turned away, looking up and around. Even with her eyes gradually adjusting to the darkness, she couldn't seem the make out any of her surroundings. It bordered on frustrating.

"Where_ are _we?" It hadn't been the first time she'd asked the question, but she didn't know whether or not Kona had been conscious to hear the first.

"I... have no idea," Kona coughed a few times, closing her hand over her mouth and doubling up in pain. Ichigo leaned over hurriedly and asked what was wrong, but the black haired girl quickly assured her that she was just tired. "I'll...I'll be alright."

"Don't sound so sure,"

Both girls nearly fell from where they sat to stare wide eyed before them, where Ari stood with her lips curled into a grin, the shadows concealing everything but her golden eyes.

"_I'm_ here, after all. And you don't want to be friends... how rude..."

--

"Don't push it," Ryou warned in a low tone.

Brooke stood outside, her black hair swishing about freely in the cool wind, Roxi and the others lined up behind her. Even Shinta had transformed and was standing at her side, more for her own support than anything. As much as she tried to stand tall, there was always a flicker of pain that went through her eyes. She'd been wounded the worst of all, and yet here she was, trying to right things again...

"You want her back," her voice was icier than usual as she stared blankly at the empty road ahead of her, her lips drawn tight in a thin line. She turned her head to face Ryou briefly, her dark hair flickering over her eyelids disobediently. "So do we."

Roxi nodded softly. "Shirogane-san... we're all tired, and hurt, but we can't just stand by while Ichigo and Kona are under Ari's watch. We promise we'll rest again when they come back."

"And if they're safe," Kikyo added in a solid tone, Yumi nodding in vigorous agreement.

Ryou scowled, but they was worry sketched in his blue eyes. "Still, _don't push it_. Your wounds are bad enough. Kona and Ichigo are priority to be rescued, but if anything happens to any of you, it's off. We'll find another way."

"There _is _no other way." Brooke had her sword drawn now, holding it at arm's length, her eyes fixed on the blade. Then, without turning to face the others, she instructed, "When I say so, you'll all focus the energy into your weapons and release them into one target point."

"But, Brooke-san, how --"

Turning on her toe, Brooke sent an icy glare in Roxi's direction, which made her stiffen and shut up immediately. "_Just do it_."

Without waiting for any nod of confirmation or anything, she kept her sword held out before her. Shinta looked sideways at her, as if trying to determine what she was trying to do, looking worried. He could see how frail her body had become, no matter how firm and unbreakable her expression made her seem.

Her concentration was firm. Unbreakable. Her eyes seemed to glaze over, an aura beginning to eminate from her outstretched sword. Kikyo blinked rapidly from the silence. No, not complete silence, it was like... It was like someone was calling. Not to her, not to the others, but...

The wind picked up suddenly. Brooke's hair whisked about, but she did not move from where she stood. She did not even blink, or wince, or allow her grip to falter. She held her ground. Ryou shivered a bit, and after having watched Brooke do nothing while risking her health out in the cold, he was ready to tell her to quit and go back inside. He was willing to drag the winged girl, if he had to.

But then, the wind stopped. Just like that. All was still, as two figures began to unblur themselves from the rest of the scenery, standing against the icy breeze, tall, unfaltering, coming into view within seconds, without hesitation or time for protest.

"Ah!" Yumi's eyes widened, and Roxi took an awkward step back, her body stiff as she held her weapon out of habit. Kikyo scowled, also in defensive position, as Shinta did something of the same nature. Brooke stood completely still, her eyes still fixed on that exact spot, the sword still outstretched and pointed squarely ahead.

"Well,_ hello _to you too," Hanajima said.

--

"A-Ari!"

Kona's eyes widened as she saw Ichigo try to stand up, and before she could even mouth a protest, the cat girl fell limply back to her knees, clutching at her arm and breathing shakily. Ari grinned, and Kona snapped her head around to stare at her in fear as she tried to help Ichigo. The alien was unarmed. Or, it seemed that way, at least.

"Hmm. You've both taken a beating, haven't you?" She said, her golden eyes wide with delight and amusement. Kneeling down to get a better look at them, she grinned, "I guess I can't expect a fight out of you. How boring." She sighed melodramatically.

"...me." Ichigo's mouth was moving as she breathed heavily, the last word the only one that had been formed correctly enough to be audible. Ari paused, then raised an eyebrow. She was in a mood for games, but Ichigo didn't seem to want to play.

_How dull._

"What's that, Ichigo-neko? You need to speak up," reaching forward, she grabbed hold of the redhead's chin, tilting it upwards so her face was completely in view.

"I-Ichigo!" Kona cried out in protest, but halted from an exhausted glare from Ari's end. She backed off, but had her fists clenched at her sides stiffly, ready to attack if the alien lashed out at Ichigo.

She was surprised. Ichigo's eyebrows were drawn together in sadness and confusion, and her eyes seemed watery from all the pain she was going through. Ari blinked. "Aah, you're gonna get all_ emotional, _are you?"

"Why... do you hate me?" Ichigo said in a hushed voice, clenching her teeth together, "Why do you hate me so much that you'd go out of your way to see me suffer? All this time, that's been your goal, hasn't it? _Why_?" Ichigo suddenly gained enough energy to cry out in a half-sob, half-yell.

Ari was silent. Then, sighing in exasperation, she let go of Ichigo and fell back into a lazy sitting position, holding herself up with her arms, "I knew it. You just can't help but be all teary on me, can you, neko?" she said in despair, blinking boredly from the bangs that fell over her eyes. Closing them, her expression suddenly turned to one of anger. _Absolute anger_... "Stop feigning your innocence, witch."

"You can call me," her face wasn't visible again as she had to keep herself up, panting, her body shaking from a mix of pain and anger, "whatever names you want, I don't care. It doesn't answer my question. I need to know..." Her voice cracked into a whisper, "I need to know why you're putting me and the others through this. _I need to know!"_

"Ch," Opening her eyes again, there was disturbance within the deep gold depths, as they fixed themselves on Ichigo. Years of pain, anger, despair, suffering, heartbreak, and sorrow seemed to mix into the colour, forming something more confusing, more complex, "You _know_ what we've gone through, our kind. A horrible kind of life, for decades, centuries, _millenias, _and you ungrateful humans are destroying this planet, this wonderful place that was rightfully ours. That's why Kishu-sama and Pai-sama and Taruto-chan came here. They came to take back our precious home..." Her fists clenched together, her eyebrows drawing into a deep frown,

"But then there was _you_. You and those other brats, and that Shirogane Ryou, _you_ had to get in the way. They would have accomplished it, if it weren't for you. This planet would be under better care. Kishu-sama..." she started to laugh, her entire face lighting up with a grin, "...he was so _strong and powerful. _They all were, but he had special abilities. He could have _destroyed_ you, you and those girls, if..."

Her face darkened, and she lowered her gaze to Ichigo. "...if it hadn't been for _you, _witch. _You_ and your bewitching powers..."

Ichigo let out a choking sob and seemed to calm down, sitting there quietly, staring at the darkened ground. Then, "He's important to you..." she trailed off.

Ari scoffed. What kind of a statement was that? "Of course he's_ important _to me. He was important to _all of us_. Kishu-sama was, no,_ is _one of the most powerful warriors of our planet. He was sent to Earth for a reason. He would have been our saviour, our hero... but no... you blinded him by taking power of his own emotion." Ari grit her teeth. "You're_ despicable_."

Ichigo was silent for a very long time. Kona put her hands on the girl's back, trying to console her, make sure she hadn't passed out already from the pain and the frustration. But to her surprise, her breathing had calmed. Her body was still. She was perfectly relaxed, not tensed, not frightened or angry in any way. Simply where she was.

Then, slowly, she lifted her head again, to look Ari right in the eye. Her own were clear of tears now. They were steady, strong, unfaltering, not willing to flicker with any signs of fear or sadness. Only faint sympathy, which alarmed Ari. Which made her stand stiff, uneasy that she could look upon her so calmly.

"You were in love with him," Ichigo said quietly, "weren't you, Ari?"

--

"H-h-hanajima!" Yumi cried, pointing her finger. The others didn't look any more pleased, but they didn't know what to do. Brooke had given them instructions, and now they'd been interrupted. How were they going to get to Ichigo and Kona now...? How could they help when they now had to face off against two enemies?

Biting her lip, Roxi stared in upset bewilderment towards Marzipan and Hanajima who stood before them, in ready-battle forms.

"You look surprised," Hanajima mused, flipping her hair over her shoulder with a grin, which faltered into a frown, "Odd. That _damn voice _sounded like it was coming from here. Can't imagine why you'd be calling_ us _here, but--"

"_Brooke!"_

Kikyo shouted in surprise as the girl, who hadn't moved a muscle, suddenly shattered in movement, darting right at Hanajima without pause or hesitation. In fact, without even charging up her sword, she took a swing at the alien. This was not expected. Not having had time to dodge, Hanajima was left, stunned, with a nasty cut on her left forearm. Her eyes deepend in anger as, without wasting time, Brooke let out a cry and went in for another swing.

She sidestepped quickly out of the way, and yet the impact of the sword seemed to draw more blood. A very, very small cut, but a cut nonetheless. Brooke was driven by pure, unbridled rage, swinging almost madly and without tact. Sometimes power and speed made up for loss of tact. In Brooke, who was normally so calm and focused, this seemed to be the case...

"Tsch!_ Brat_!" Hanajima seethed, and, fading a few paces back, she held her arms spread apart and her Illusions Staff glowed with almost visible fury. Forming a circle all around the angel girl, Hanajima created a barrier of her own multiples, several perfect illusions of herself.

"Huaaaaa!" Brooke didn't falter, misstep, or hesitate. She gripped the hilt of her sword with strength, and swung it all around clockwise, cutting through each of the illusions with side-splitting speed until she hit the real thing. Shocked, Hanajima fell back, the cut this time left behind deeply in her leg.

Marzipan lifted her bow silently, and pulled back, aiming for the occupied Brooke. The Dark Angel seemed so much more fit on drawing blood than actually getting an opening to create a damaging wound than usual. Marzipan had not observed her and the girls for long, but she'd kept mental pictures, and this girl was usually so quiet and full of tact. Her current attack, however, held none. Unless there was some other motive...

But this was not her concern. Pulling back, Marzipan focused solely and solemnly on her target - Brooke's head. Only to have the arrow release in an opposite direction when her arm was jerked back by the impact of another weapon, a feeling of pain to follow from a light filled attack.

"Cherry Burst!"

Falling to the ground, Marzipan didn't let out a sound and pushed herself back up, turning to see Shinta, Yumi, Roxi and Kikyo all gathered around her, prepared to defend.

"I don't know what Brooke's trying to prove," the boy said lowly, holding his own sword out in defense, "but we will_ not _allow you to interfere."

Illusions weren't working. That was clear enough.

Hanajima sent out everything she had - replacing tactics, misplacing tactics, even hiding rocks and potholes so she'd trip and give her some kind of opening. But the girl seemed to glide through the air on that wing of hers, through any illusions she threw out, whether they be visual or mental, and drive in for a direct attack. More than the cuts Hanajima had suffered were blows from the blunt edge of the sword. Nothing fatal or especially wounding, but certainly painful._ What's that girl doing?... _It was _her _voice she'd heard, the alien was sure of it. Not that she knew where she'd acquired such a power, but that was besides the point. It wasn't like usual, where she was trying to destroy the enemy. It was more like she just wanted them to leave as quickly as they'd came.

Fine. She'd bite. They had no real reason to be here, anyways.

"Marzipan!" She called out, catching the attention of the purple haired alien who was preparing to defend herself against three Mews and an elemental swordsman. Glancing over warily, she didn't even give the others a second more of attention before transporting herself to Hanajima's side. The elder alien nodding in a fit of breathlessness, and, both turning to face the Mews in exasperation, began fading away into the air with a ripple.

Brooke swung her sword out, as if intending to get in one final attack. She did not move. She simply kept her weapon pointed squarely in the faces of the two disapearing aliens, not moving further than that.

"_Now!" _She yelled hoarsely, her sword suddenly erupting into a charge of dark energies.

It took the others a split second to realize the significance of her statement.

"_Now_? But --" Roxi protested in surprise. The dark energy kept getting stronger, louder, engulfing Brooke's sword in a fit of flaming power.

"_NOW_!" She repeated loudly, keeping her charging sword pointed precisely at one point. Her entire body was engulfed in her own power, charging up for a mighty attack.

There was no further hesitation. They had no idea what she was trying to do, but Kikyo, Roxi and Yumi all pointed their weapons, preparing an attack. They had less than seconds to spare. Brooke issued another command - "Shinta!" - and the boy seemed to comprehend just as quickly.

"Tsuki Ken!" With an upslash of his sword, a lash of dark energy coated itself right to the spot where Marzipan and Hanajima stood. Brooke only had time to see their fading faces hold a look of surprise. She didn't care. She just kept her hands tight around the hilt of her sword, bringing forth every ounce of energy to one attack.

"Cherry _Burst_!"

"Kahidra_ Blast_!"

"Raspberry_ Dazzle_!"

In almost perfect unison, the three girls unleashed an attack of rainbow-mixed colours, focused all on the point Brooke had ordered, Marzipan and Hanajima's faces disappearing within the brightness of the light. Mixed with the darkness of Shinta's attack, this created a strange reaction - a sort of glowing patch of energy in the air, thick, nearly fluid, sticking to the essences that were the two aliens.

Bounding off her feet with no warning, Brooke raised her sword high into the air, unleashing a cry as she focused all her energy into one swing.

"_MITSUKAI KEN!"_

As she brought the dark-consumed blade down, it seemed to catch on the essence of the prior attacks, tearing into the air as if it were some fragile sheet. The others watched in shock and surprise as she landed on her feet, faced by a fast-fading dark portal that created a large current of wind. Turning on her heel, she only wasted a second to the others.

"Hurry up!" Holding her sword at a tight angle, Brooke jumped in, disapearing into the dark hole that was becoming smaller and smaller. Shinta recovered from the initial shock.

"Brooke!" He disapeared into it as well, leaving three confused girls behind.

"What just--" Roxi gaped. Yumi's eyes were wide as saucers.

"I don't--"

"Shut up and get_ in_!" Kikyo hollered, grabbing them both by the wrists and pulling them into the faded portal as well.

--

Ari was dead silent.

Ichigo had sat back down to catch her breath, still aching in pain. She didn't say a word either.

Kona looked completely bewildered. Confused, lost, alarmed, out of the loop. Clearly, she'd missed something here. _'Kishu'?_ Obviously, both Ichigo and Ari knew who that was. Obviously, she _didn't_. So she sat in silence, with wide eyes, trying to figure out exactly what was going on without interupting, herself.

"Ari..." Ichigo breathed, trying to read the alien's blank expression. She'd figured something out. It wasn't just because she'd supposedly _'ruined' _their planet's chance, but...

"How..." her body was shaking, and suddenly her golden eyes became wide and filled with fury. Ichigo felt her breath catch in her throat as the alien's teeth and fists clenched, a single copper dagger appearing in her hand. She lifted her pale face and looked at Ichigo with rage-filled eyes, "How _dare_ you try to mock me! A witch knows, a witch_ knows _how the mind can be pegged more than the body! _How dare you!" _Her voice rang high as she glided over to where Ichigo sat, her tightly clutched weapon engulfed in powerful blue flame. Ari's shoulders shook, they shook so violently, and Ichigo went stiff, feeling the hairs on her neck raise up on end.

Ari was angry. The look in her eyes, on her face, the dark feeling that seemed to emit from her body - it was _terrifying._

"Ichigo!" Kona cried, but was silenced, feeling as if her chest was being crushed. Gasping, she clutched at her gut and doubled over, trying to snuff out the feeling of flame running through her veins. As she lay like a fish, she realized how powerful Ari's power had become... to be induced in such immense anger.

"_I will destroy you_," she seethed in absolute anger, and raised her sai to the helpless Ichigo. Wide-eyed, Ichigo could only helplessly stare back as Ari came closer, lifting her dagger, ready to end it in one hit...

...and she couldn't do a thing.

"_Ichigo!"_

It was more than one voice, this time. Before Ichigo could even comprehend the situation, Ari's eyes widened and she was suddenly jerked backwards, a pair of pale arms locking themselves around her in a firm hold.

"Ungh!" Crying out in surprise, she struggled, and looked back. A scowl appeared on her face when she saw Brooke glowering up at her, her eyes narrowing into slits, "You _brat!"_

"Brooke?" Ichigo breathed in surprise, feeling her heart pounding. Ari still had her flaming sai, but was being very carefully restrained.

Kona looked just as surprised, though had the energy to actually voice it. "Y-you guys! How did you get here?"

"Not important," Brooke growled, tightening her grip. She shifted the angle at which she held her weapon so the blade was against Ari's chest. This minimilized the struggling sufficently, though the alien refused to give up.

"Let go of me! You're gonna regret this!" Ari yelled feverishly, thrashing as much as she could without cutting herself on Brooke's blade. But it hadn't been her intention to hurt her. That would come later.

"Ari!" A voice breathlessly cried, and the girls turned to see Hanajima and Marzipan appear. "Ari, they--"

Hanajima cut herself off as she saw _'they' _standing before her, surrounding the blue haired alien entirely. She winced.

"Ari-san," Marzipan mouthed solemnly, but neither made a move to do anything. Shinta had his sword pointed at him, in a ready-battle stance in case they tried everything.

"We're not here to fight. Not today," he said huskily, but kept his sword out in any case. Neither moved.

"S-Shinta ---"

Brooke interupted Kona without thought or hesitation. "All of you. Now. We need to get out of here. Focus and combine our attacks," as she spoke, her sword glowed a dark aura, filled with power.

"Right." The other three nodded, and, holding out their weapons, began to glow as well, summoning their energies to combine. Ari continued to struggle, letting out a cry of pain everytime her skin came into contact with the essence of the sword that kept her captive.

"Get me out! _Stop them! What are you doing?" _Her voice was loud, feverish, filled with uncontrolled rage. Hanajima and Marzipan did nothing. There _was_ nothing they could do. Ari continued to bark, crying out, thrashing more and more wildly. She was only injuring herself, but Brooke couldn't hold on much longer.

Gritting his teeth, Shinta also summoned his attack energy, keeping a firm defense on Hanajima and Marzipan. He wouldn't back down...

Ichigo and Kona watched in wonder, too weak to do anything to contribute. However, even among Ari's struggling and outcries that filled the otherwise-silence, the energy that Roxi, Yumi, Kikyo, Brooke, even Shinta had summoned seemed to channel together, connect them all by some invisible force. Even Ichigo and Kona felt their pendants emit some kind of energy, just enough to attach them as well.

"Stop them! _Stop them_!" Ari screamed, and with one swift kick, she broke free of Brooke's captivity. Seething with rage, she covered her entire body in blue flame, running straight for the unmoving Ichigo. "You're..._dead_!"

"_Go!" _Brooke cried, dark light surrounding her entirely. In one flash, every ounce of energy seemed to intertwine itself, pull them out of the darker realm and disappear in a flash. With that went the Mew girls and the Elemental Swordsman. Every one of them.

Falling to the ground in the midst of attacking something that was no longer there, Ari shoved herself up with a wicked grin. It faltered when she saw nothing before her. "What?" Looking to the side - then the other - then behind her - she saw nothing. Only two other aliens and complete darkness. Her gold eyes widening, her body tensed and trembled.

"Gone," she slammed her fist against the ground and let out a shriek of anger, "They're _gone_!"

--

"_Waaahhhh_!"

Crashlanding. Transporting from a different realm was a tricky thing. They succeeded, even in getting to the right place, but...

"Yumi-chan, get off my leg!"

"Caaaan't! Kikyo's _sitting on meeeee_!"

"That's not_ me_, it's Ichigo."

"Well, I'm so-_rry_, but haven't you noticed I'm a cripple?"

"Last time I checked, we _all _were! Remember? '_Acid'_?"

"What, that hasn't healed by now?"

"Kona, are you alright?"

"Erm, yeah, Shinta, I'm fine... Y-Yumi, that's my ear! _Itai!"_

"Brooke, can't you at least _help_?"

As the girls who'd landed themselves in a pile squabbled, Brooke stood calmly by, somehow managing to land more safely on the grounds of Cafe Mew Mew than the others. Without a word, she turned to face the large pink building, which was somewhat majestic looking in the dark.

She shrugged. It wasn't like it was her obligation to help them out. If they'd stop being a stubborn mess, they'd figure it out themselves. Meanwhile, Brooke had to fight off this impending feeling.

_Something very, very bad is going to happen..._

_--_

_Next Chapter:_

_Hearts are vulnerable things to begin with. But as individuals are forced to face challenges too tough to take alone, they must band together, and in banding together, friendships are formed. Only, it is human nature to eventually desire more than just friendship - to desire heart and to eventually desire love. As they are given just moments to inhale, the girls catch glimpses of their placements in a complex web of emotions. Even Ari has fallen victim to such a vulnerability and desire... only, as time progressed, that desire began to fuel a dangerous and fatal rage that is only now coming to surface._


	23. Love Chain Reaction

**xuri:** xD Yay! Have I mentioned this is my most favourite chapter? This is the pile-of-oneshots chapter that I've mentioned several times before, and I love it. ;3 A lot of the times, I set up characters in potential relationships and love interests without even realizing it... when I did, it was almost time for the finale, and I had no time to flesh the love-ness out! So out came this chapter. It's beautiful. Really. And a great change of mood before disaster, if ya know what I mean. The intense (xD) 3-chapter finale will follow!

Also, pictures ARE up on my profile. -.- It just took a long time to update, for some reason... So check them out, pretty please? They're not super-great, but I worked really hard on them, so I would realllly appreciate some feedback, any feedback, anything at all. Thanksmuch!

SamKo:  Yes, yes, a healthy dose of drama is always a good thing. ;3 Aw, thanks! This technically takes place after a la mode, since if you'll remember, I kind of mentioned Berii and Tasuku in the beginning... but I guess I could just as easily have made it a continuation of the anime instead of the manga. That way I wouldn't have to explain how Ichigo got back from England. ;3 xD Heee, if I could draw, I would soooo totally do that. That would take care of the extensive word-count problem, wouldn't it? xD

toothpick99: Thanks for reviewing! D And, I've mentioned before, the alien(s) may or may not make an appearence in the three-chapter finale. ;3 We'll just have to see!

--

**Blend (chapter twenty-three)**

**..love chain reaction..**

"Hana-san..."

Both were silent. Completely, utterly, silent. All they could do was watch, as if through a glass wall. They could only watch as Ari screamed with rage, racing around in the darkness, blinded, _driven_ by fury.

_"We're leaving you here," Hanajima had said._

_"They're gone... they're...**gone..!" **Ari cried again and again, shaking in absolute anger. Marzipan stood by Hanajima's side._

_"We'll be back when you're calm, Ari-san," She said solemnly, staring as the golden-eyed girl shook and yelled, a total new side consuming her, head to toe... "...Bye bye."_

"What?"

Hanajima replied softly, glancing to the side. They were in the apartment, their apartment, though watching the other realm as if watching a television program. It was all they could do.

"It's been five hours, Hana-san. She's been like this for_ five hours_."

The brown haired alien nodded solemnly, closing her eyes. "Ari is angry. _Truly_ angry," she said, and opened her eyes again to see the blue haired girl in question screaming silently, "And this... _this_ is what happens. This is what she becomes. Blind, unfeeling. She's a danger to us and to innocent bystanders if we let her roam free. So..."

And then, they were quiet again. Watching. Marzipan had never seen Ari in such a state of pure frightening rage - everytime she stopped moving long enough to see her eyes, they were pinpoint, flaming gold, her pupils dilated and her eyes wide with _absolute fury_. Never had she seen such a terror inducing expression.

After a moment of silence, Hanajima turned away and headed for the door. Marzipan turned after her in confusion.

"Where are you going?"

"Out. To do whatever," she said almost hoarsely, glancing over her shoulder, "You too, Marzipan. It's not a good idea to stay here. She'll be like this for a while..."

--

"Will you _hold still_?"

"I don't see why this is necessary," Brooke said lowly, jerking her arm away again. Growling, Ryou reached back over and pulled her hand back.

"Have you looked at yourself?" Keeping a firm grip on her wrist, he worked on that arm for the fifth time, trying to re-bandage it. "All that exertion tore open most of your wounds. It's going to be a while now before they heal."

"It is not my fault."

"_I_ warned you."

"Bickering like newlyweds, I see," Kikyo appeared in the doorway, rubbing her head like she had a migraine, "Though, I thought that was Ichigo's job. A nice change from _earthquakes, _though,"

Sighing in exasperation, Ryou gave up and let Brooke take care of herself, as she was not being receptive enough for him to do any good. "Hm. Where _is_ Strawberry, anyway?"

"Last I checked," she tapped her finger against her chin, "she went out with her Masaya. They scheduled a date or something this morning, so, that's the deal."

"Baka," shaking his head, Ryou gathered up the medical supplies, heading over to put them away, "She should have stayed here, too. You've _all_ got a lot of healing to do, and running around all day isn't going to help..."

"Ano... she said she'd be back by 3," Roxi pointed out, but Ryou was already gone.

"Stupid boy," Brooke grumbled under her breath, trying to tie up a bandage with one hand. Kona was watching from the side, and she crawled over.

"Here, let me help--"

"_Get away from me_." Brooke snatched her hand away, glaring heavily at Kona. The girl blinked in confusion. Then, shrugging, she slowly backed away as the winged girl went ahead to continue struggling with her self-bandaging.

"Ara! _Some_-one's in a baaad mood," Yumi chanted from where she sat, fiddling with a deck of cards at on of the tables with a catty grin on her face.

"Yumi-chan!"

"Sowwy," Sticking her tongue out at Roxi, she sighed and leaned back in her chair, fanning her face relaxingly with the pile of laminated paper, "Hmm, it _is_ kinda stuffy in here. Nice n' warm, though."

"Just be glad we get some time to relax," Kona pointed out, taking an elastic from her pocket and tying it into a ponytail before looking around. Aside from them, the cafe was empty. Ryou had offered to close it. No, not _offered, _Kona reminded herself with a sweatdrop - more like _"I'm closing the cafe, you're staying in the cafe, and we'll all take some time off, don't anything in the cafe that will strain you, and that's that. Got it?"_

Though, she_ supposed _it was a nice thing to do. She'd thank him, later.

_Maybe...Will he smile...?_

A light blush crept across her face and she bit down on her lip before hurrying over to one of the heart-shaped windows to peer outside. It was a nice day, though, she knew well enough from her stroll this morning that it was one of those sunny-looking days that actually had a vicious wind chill. She sighed.

"Ichigo... hope she's okay," Kona murmured, resting her chin on her arms as she stared out through the glass, not noticing Brooke passing behind her into the kitchen door.

--

"Haah, this is _delicious_!"

Ichigo practically squealed as she took another bite of her Strawberry Tallcake. From across the table, Masaya watched her with a smile, nibbling on his own chocolate-chip cookie as she enjoyed her decadent dessert.

"MmmMmm_Mm_!" Taking another forkful, Ichigo smiled so widely it looked like she might burst. Upon swallowing, she let out a refreshed '_aaaah_'. "This cafe's so cute and delicious! I think Akasaka-san's cakes are still better, but..." Unable to resist, she popped another bite into her mouth and instantly beamed, "This stuff is _sooooo_ good!"

"I'm glad you like it," Masaya replied with a nod, and reached over to brush some icing she'd gotten on her cheek. Ichigo blushed furiously, but smiled, tilting her head innocently. "I heard of this place a while ago, one of my friends said it was really good. I would have thought you'd rather be going to Cafe Mew Mew, but..."

Nodding, Ichigo reluctantly set her fork down, twirling her red hair around her finger, "Yeah, it's really hectic there right now. Shirogane's letting everyone stay to heal up and stuff... He didn't put it very kindly, but I know he was trying to be nice. I had to sneak out, though, 'cause he probably wouldn't enjoy the idea of me running around with my _lovely_-boyfriend," she grinned happily.

Masaya smiled softly in return, and his dark eyes drifted down to her arm. "Ichigo... Are you really alright? You look pretty bruised up,"

"Oh! I'm totally fine, really. It's pretty much healed. He's just really insistent that we keep everything clean and stuff. The alien attacks have been pretty frequent lately, so..."

"He doesn't want you more injured than you have to be," setting his plate aside, he rested his arms on the tables, smiling a smile that made Ichigo melt, "Shirogane-san is just worried about you. I can relate."

"Y-yeah," blushing terribly again, she couldn't help but smile as she fidgetted a bit in her seat. It faltered, however. Just for a moment, hardly noticeable at all. Only, Masaya saw - he knew her face and her expressions so well, that he could tell in an instant when something was wrong. Her eyes seemed to cloud over in a blink, and her face even seemed a tinge pale, and the way her smile quickly twitched back into place gave him the impression there was a facade.

"Ichigo..." His eyebrows creasing into a worried frown, he lowered his voice, "... is... something the matter?"

"What?" She blinked in alarm, "No, no, of course not! I really do love it here, Masaya, so don't worry, please! And my injuries aren't that bad, I'm just so happy to be here with you ----"

"But, there's something else, isn't there?" He folded his hands before his chin, "You look... disturbed, Ichigo."

Gulping, Ichigo bit her lip and stared down at her lap. She was quiet for quite some time. "I... I really appreciate Masaya, I really do... just..." she began quietly, closing her eyes for a second before looking back up at him in desperation, "Just... I have this bad feeling. Like something's wrong, something's dark, and it's... It's coming..." Looking off to the side, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. It's probably nothing. I probably just had too much cake..."

The dark haired boy shook his head and stood up. Ichigo looked up at him in surprise. "No. I know you, Ichigo, and I_ know _you need to trust your instincts. If something bad is going to happen... you need to be there with them, don't you?" He smiled softly.

"M-Masaya..." Ichigo stared wide eyed at him, almost in protest.

"It's alright," he softly shook his head, holding his hand out to offer her help up, "I got my date with you, Ichigo, and I'm happy. When I have time, and you have time, and the aliens are gone... We'll have all the time in the world."

After a moment, a smile appeared on her face, and she stepped forward to pull him close into a tight hug, "Thank you, Masaya. I promise, when _we_ have all the time in the world... I'll give you all _my_ time in the world."

--

"Ryou."

Ryou jumped at hearing his name, nearly flinging a bowl full of dough all over the room. Spinning around, he calmed down, exhaling when he saw who was at the door. "Geez, Brooke. I don't think you realize how creepy you are when no one can see your face..."

The girl lowered her face slightly, and was silent as the blonde wiped up whatever mess of pastry ingredients he made. Putting the bowl away, he glanced over at her, pausing with a frown. "...So? What do you want?"

And she didn't say a thing. No surprise, really. After having her live in the basement of Cafe Mew Mew for a few weeks now, Ryou found the girl to be no fun for conversation, activity, or even just someone to say '_hi_' to when things got slow. He'd given up and left her to herself, and she seemed to like it best that way. He didn't understand why she'd come up here, when she scarcely even got up off the little bed she'd set up. Either it was a really good reason, or she was finally ready to be cracked. Force some life and friendliness into her.

The latter was highly unlikely. Oh, well.

Sighing in frusteration, he walked over, rubbing the flour off his wrists, "Look, if you don't have anything to do, why don't you help the girls? I know socializing is the last thing on _earth_ you want to do, but they're bound to get restless if they stay cooped up much longer. The last thing I need is a bunch of annoyi--"

He was cut off as she stepped forward promptly, reaching over and running her fingers through his blonde hair, slowly, gently. Blinking, Ryou raised a quizzical eyebrow at the girl, who in turn only stared seriously and blankly back at him.

"There was flour," she said weakly, taking another step forward, "in your hair."

Giving a little look that was like _'O-kay then'_, he looked ready to walk away. Only, Brooke seemed perfectly content with her hand where it was, brushing against his forehead and cheek, as she leaned forward to 'inspect' him for more dirt.

"A little too close, don't you think?" He said harshly, making her stop. She'd gotten to the point where her nose was nearly brushing up against his. However, she did not move, only stared him straight in the eye without emotion. Just to vex him, he was sure.

"What? Does it bother you?" She asked bluntly, raising an eyebrow. She was enjoying this, wasn't she? It wasn't a taunt, just a mockery. He tried to think what he'd done to make her angry with him. Perhaps it was because he'd slammed one of the doors upstairs one, and one day afterwards she complained to him about having echoes in her head and not being able to sleep? That hadn't been _his_ fault. Did she really think he knew shutting a door would effect her for the entire day?

Ryou reached his hand over and placed it firmly on her shoulder, intending to shove her away so he could get back to work. Instead, he head a gargled '_Reh..!' _from the doorway. They both turned in that direction at about the same time.

"Ah! I'm sorry," Kona stared, wide eyed, in something of a daze. Ryou frowned. What was wrong with her? It was only as she saw how her gaze was cast towards the ground awkwardly, like she'd seen something she wasn't supposed to, that he realized how strange it must have looked from the outside. He and Brooke _had_ been close, but undoubtedly _not _for the reasons Kona had concluded. "S-sorry. It's hard to knock when there's no door, but... nevermind, it wasn't important."

Calmly, or at least with a calm _outer expression_, Kona turned and stalked back out the door without another word. Sighing and groaning at the same time, Ryou slipped away from Brooke and immediately walked after Kona. Brooke's foot moved, though he didn't see. It moved towards the door, and then stopped, as she stared at him with icy cold eyes.

Or, more accurately, icy cold eyes that seemed to melt and reveal some kind of sadness laced with warmth beneath.

--

"Oi. _Oi_, Kona."

"Hm?" Still expressionless, the black haired girl pushed the door open and went outside without acknowledging his presence beyond that. Ryou let out a grunt of frustration and went out the door after her, to see she was already sitting on the porch, hands folded neatly in her lap, as she stared out at the yard spacily.

Shoving a hand through his blond hair, Ryou stepped forward and sat down beside her, clapping his hands lightly against the cement of the porch. Silence. Though, when Kona actually spoke, he was surprised to hear it wasn't shaky or tear ridden - simply relaxed, calm, a simple request.

"Please don't bother yourself. I know you have work to do. I promise, I won't be out here long. I'd just like some fresh air."

"So, you're going to pretend you're _not _upset?" He sounded irritated. When she didn't respond, he gritted his teeth and leaned over, speaking more loudly, "If you're not gonna try and deny it, at least look at me. I can tell these things." She did nothing. He frowned. "Look at me." When she didn't respond again, he simply reached out, grabbed her by the chin and forced her head to tilt and look up at him. She winced, slightly, but her expression didn't change.

He'd seen plenty of girls cry over something as stupid as this, so that was sort of what he expected. Instead, he saw a perfectly blank, straight-lined face, with emotionless eyes staring back at him. He shuddered slightly, letting go.

"Oi, Kona, don't do that. You look like Brooke,"

"You shouldn't say things like that about her," Only, now her voice was quiet as she stared down at the cement, clutching her knees tightly to her chest, "I didn't think... I didn't think Ichigo was right. I thought she was just jealous, just trying to make a fuss. But I guess I shouldn't think that everything she says is a result of fury. She's a sensible girl, Ryou. I know you think, or at least _act_ like you do, differently, but... she's a sensible girl."

"What Ichigo said?" Ryou looked confused. Greatly. It took him a second to realize and piece it together with the situation, "Oh, _that_. Kona, look, I know this sounds like an overdone excuse, but it's not what you think. Besides, whether Ichigo's sensible or not, you should know things like that are just her way of annoying me. Getting back at me for teasing her, and it's alright. Really, you shouldn't take everything, anything really, that_ she _says seriously. Most of it's just angry gibberish."

She didn't seem any less unhappy, any less stressed out. If her blank features were any indication of that at all.

"It may not have been anything to _you_, but --"

"What?"

"...I saw Brooke, and she --"

"You're spewing nonsense, Kona," he scoffed, looking offended, "Brooke was just trying to get back at me, too. You know, she's just like Ichigo, just with less emotion and she can do such things without getting flustered. Do you really think she'd lean in and kiss me out of nowhere? Seriously?" Hearing the 'situation' so bluntly put, Kona seemed to flinch visibly, "Well? Does that sound like Brooke at all?"

"...No," Kona admitted, and turned to look at Ryou. He blinked. There was something in the depths of her own blue eyes that startled him - very full, very different than before. "But you can't possibly understand the emotions of others, Ryou. Emotions can make anyone do strange things, things they wouldn't normally do..."

Ryou paused, and then rolled his eyes, "Ugh, you sound like Strawberry when she's trying to be all sentimental. But whatever, just know my side of the story is how it stands," Nodding in confirmation to this, he hesitated, before turning back to her quizically, "Why did it bother you so much, anyways? You seemed kinda freaked out..."

Her face burned. Instantly, that was what happened - her eyes widened, and her face went red. Most of her calm expression remained, and she didn't stutter anything or attempt to explain, only stood up slowly and calmly, trying to keep her face hidden as Ryou looked at her in puzzlement.

"Hm, it doesn't matter. I'm... going back in now. Yumi's probably wrecked something," her voice didn't falter or crack, even once. She was a perfect picture of relaxation. On the outside, at least. Her insides were a complete mess, on the other hand.

Without waiting for confirmation or argument, she turned and went inside, just as she said she would. Ryou glanced after her in a bit of confusion, but simply shook his head and muttered something along the lines of '_psh, girls'_. He was ready to get up when he saw something familiar before him. He blinked.

"Oh, it's you."

--

"Yo, Brooke,"

Only seconds after Ryou had left, Brooke heard Shinta's voice behind her. Glancing over her shoulder uncaringly, she saw the boy standing there, looking a bit surprised to see her. Closing her eyes, she turned away, ready to leave.

"Geez, at least say '_hi_'," He smiled even so, "Have you seen Ryou?"

"He left," Brooke replied bluntly, and turned to glare at him, "Are you _obsesse_d? All you're ever looking for is Ryou, Ryou, _Ryou_. Do something else with your time."

He looked surprised at her words. "'Obsessed'? I was just going to ask him something for Keiichiro. You came here looking for him, too, didn't you? So _you_ shouldn't talk,"

She said nothing. Shinta wasn't surprised - she seemed to be quiet a lot, though he could almost hear insults screaming in her mind. Obviously, she'd grown tired with him, and turned again, only he stepped up and suddenly touched his hand to her wing.

Brooke halted in her step, her shoulders tense. Clearly, she did not like _anyone_ touching her wing like he was. It reminded her that it was there. It reminded her that she was different, not of the normal. She was Unusual. And she did not like to realize that feeling more than she had to.

But before she could even raise her voice to him, hit his hand out of the way, he voiced his concern first. "It's injured. Why hasn't it been bandaged?"

Brooke turned to face him coldly, but he would not remove his hand from the single black wing. This kept him uncomfortably close to her. "_It _is not human. It cannot be treated like a human can be."

"But it hurts, doesn't it?" his voice was low, almost soothing, his blue eyes lingering on the feathered form.

"It does not matter. I can bear it. It will heal in time, as all things do."

"I see," but he did not remove his hand, like Brooke thought he would. It was suddenly becoming strangely awkward. It was hypocritical, when she'd mocked Ryou for critisizing the same way, but she did not like being so close. It was bothersome. It made her heart beat too fast.

"It really is amazing," That was it. She was leaving. If he started going on about things like that, she had no reason to stick around. "I know you see it as a burden, a curse, Brooke, but... it's _remarkable_. It's as if you're an angel, a real angel, weighed down by earth's gravity alone."

Brooke felt sick. She pushed his hand away coldly, but the feeling would not leave. "It is _not _remarkable," her voice dripped with acid, "It is _disgusting_. It is_ unnatural_. It should_ not exist_. And I am not of _white _feathers, not an angel. These feathers are black for a reason, because of _me_. Because, I am nothing better than a demon, Shinta. Demons do not deserve admiration, friendships, or life_. I should not be here."_

There. She felt even more sick, more dizzy, seeing him staring at her in such a hurt way, like he was saddened by the way she spoke. It wouldn't go away. It troubled her, and she decided the only solution was to leave, be out of sight from him. _He _was making her feel nauseous, like she wanted to curl up beneath a warm blanket and never come out again. Yes. It was _his_ fault. She did not want to be near him...

But he started for the door, first, his footsteps slow but firm. She watched him, calculating. When he reached the doorway, his hand pressed against the frame, Shinta paused and glanced over his shoulder to look at her.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Brooke," he said softly, his blue eyes seeming to bore into her soul, "But you are not a demon. No matter what you say, in my eyes, your black wing is pure white. It may be an experiment, it may fade away, but you will be no less of the angel you are now."

He left. Brooke stood there for a long, long time, before she clenched her jaw and turned to leave. It wasn't gone. She felt like she was going to throw up.

--

"Ah,"

Marzipan slowly dragged her feet to a stop as she saw the boy sitting on the steps, looking surprised. Well, why wouldn't he? He hadn't looked pleased when the two of them last parted, after she'd gotten a chance to sample his wonderful brownies. She hadn't been here for a few days. She just didn't have the time, when it came down to it. But when Hanajima had said they could leave, go out and do something normal - she_ immediately _wanted to see Shirogane Ryou again.

_His_ first thought was -_ run. _It was that creepy, dessert-demanding, pale, purple-haired girl that had come to the cafe a few days ago. He'd hoped he'd scared her away with his not-too-decent cooking. He'd hoped that had been the last time he ever, _ever _had to deal with her. But no. She was back. So, _run_.

"Hello,"

Crap. Too late.

"Errr," Ryou glanced up at her, keeping his eye from twitching. He managed a very fake, very forced and very nervous smile. "...hi."

Marzipan looked delighted. Fake or not - he'd smiled. She would take what she could get. Clasping her hands together, she tilted her head, dark strands of violet hair falling delicately over her face. "It's a lovely day, wouldn't you agree?"

"The Cafe's closed," he said bluntly. Ryou would _not _encourage conversation with this girl. He would _not_ be forced to cook, chat, or spend any more time with her than he needed to, "So, that means I can't cook you anything, either. I'm here, but I'm not working. So I can't. It's Cafe policy. Can't break the policy." He sincerely hoped Keiichiro could at least _pretend _there was a policy. He didn't doubt that she'd march right in and ask, and then confront Ryou for lying and give him a big hug, demanding she be given pastries cooked by his hand. He winced. _**Please**, Keiichiro, for the love of god! Be the liar for once!_

"Oh, that's alright," she was cheerful. Ryou was creeped out by that simple fact, although, with the Cafe closed, he hoped she would leave. Come back another day when he could prepare himself with an alibi and a good hiding place in the basement.

Instead, Ryou watched as she smoothly stepped over, and plopped down to sit beside him.

_Great. Just. Great._

He groaned aloud without realizing it. She didn't seem to mind.

The girl - he didn't even know her name yet - was wearing a long, black, frilly dress. It was lined with deep purple lace, matching that of her hair which waved freely down her back and framed her pale face delicately. A pair of light, metallic-looking black earrings dangled from her ears, mirroring the colour of her eyes. And her lips were less pale than they had been before - not covered in makeup, but not a ghastly white. Maybe it was the sun?

"Silence is fine. As long as I get to spend time with you," she seemed to sigh almost dreamily.

Ryou's eye twitched. Breaking point, breached. He was not going to pretend to be polite as this strange girl fawned over him for absolutely no reason.

"Why do you keep coming here?" He snapped. She looked back calmly, "Why do you keep talking to me? Why do you keep asking me to cook? I can't cook. I'm a horrible cook. So, explain why you're acting all stalker-ish around me, or come back when the Cafe's open."

Ugh. She _smiled_.

"Onii-chan told me about you."

"Eh?" Ryou's mouth twitched._ Who_? "Your... brother?"

She nodded, folded her hands neatly in her lap. "He didn't know you, formally. But he knew you. When I found out about you, that you were one of the workers at the infamous Mew Mew - " he assumed she meant the Cafe - "I had to meet you. So I did. And you're absolutely perfect."

Ryou did not look any less confused. _Onii-chan_? As in _'older brother'_? Who did he know, but not know? Shinta, maybe? But Shinta didn't look at all like this girl. Besides, he'd never mentioned a younger sister, let alone a sister of any kind. Wasn't he supposed to be an orphan?

"H-hold on," his look of irritation was replaced by puzzlement, _"'Perfect'_? I've only met you once. And I _burnt _those brownies," On purpose, he wanted to say, even though it really had been an accident. She was acting all creepy-goth-stalker, and he was beginning to feel uneasy. "How can that be _perfect_?"

"Flawed perfection, then," she said softly, and turned to look at him with dark black eyes. They held gazes for several moments in silence, Ryou doing so only because she might try to tackle him down if he so much as took her eyes off her for a second. Then, when a bird fluttered with a papery _'whisha-whish' _overhead, it seemed to break, and a tiny smile crept onto her lips. He saw some kind of sadness flicker in the clouded, emotionless eyes.

"I won't be able to see you anymore, I don't think," she said quietly, looking away, still smiling in spite of herself, "I don't think it matters to you. But _she's_ gotten very, very angry, and nothing good can result from that. So, I wanted to say good-bye. Before I have to leave forever."

Still not following. Ryou stared at her quizically, even though he should have been relieved she said she had to leave, and spoke 'good bye' as if it were the truest sense of the word. Instead, questions buzzed up in his ever-active mind. _"'She'? _Who is _'she'?" _And why was she such a threat when angry? An abusive mother or relative? A murderer? A stalker? The latter seemed strange - _stalker stalking stalker _- but he suddenly felt curious. Even worried.

Who was this girl?

Standing up silently, her dress brushed against the cement with a quiet sliding motion, and as she stepped away from the porch, she turned to look at Ryou with sad eyes and a smile. "Bye bye, Shirogane Ryou."

That didn't answer the question.

But before he could ask again, she was down the steps and out at the gate.

He did not notice that the air began to shake.

--

Kona stumbled inside, her hand pressed against her forehead, her eyes closed and eyebrows drawn up in sadness. Her cheeks still hinted at having been red as she wandered inside, trying to make her heart stop pounding in her chest. Otherwise, Yumi and Roxi and all the others would hear it beating so loudly, and they'd flock around her and accuse, accuse, _accuse_. Her face had had enough cherry-complexion for one day.

"Uwah!" She bumped into somebody. Pulling her hand from her face and making it seem like she'd scratched her face by accident to make it red, she rubbed her cheek and opened her eyes, ready to deal with a question-bombardment _a la Yumi_.

"Sorry. You alright?" Shinta asked, looking a bit stunned. Kona blinked, and quickly pulled her hand away from her face, seeing the boy standing there, blinking curiously. She flushed red.

"Oh, gah, I wasn't watching where I was going. Sorry!" She tugged on her skirt uncomfortably. Embarassing much?

"Yeah, I kinda got that vibe from you," he chuckled and smiled, "What's up, Kona? You look kinda distressed..."

"I'm... I'm fine," she insisted, though her words faltered. Of course she wasn't fine. She'd nearly gone and confessed her feelings to Ryou, who was probably still in love with Ichigo, and saw _her_ as nothing more than some annoying, blabber-mouthed little girl. She could have passed out from the mortification. Or something close to it.

"You sure?" Shinta didn't look like he believed her, not one bit. But he smiled and nodded, in any case. "Well, then, where's Ryou?"

"What? Why!" Oh god,_ oh god_, did he know? Was she so readable? She felt her face flush pink and squeaked, pretending she saw something interesting on the floor that needed to be swept up. Only, she realized she wasn't holding a broom. Her arms dropped limp at her side. _Now I know how Ichigo feels when she's caught space-headed..._

Shinta laughed. "Did you just have coffee or something? Sorry, didn't realize I was prying. Keiichiro just wanted me to ask him something, so I need to find him. Or is he too busy right now?"

"N-no!" _Ditz-queen_. "He's... just out.. on the porch, uhm, I think," her voice quieted down, and just speaking about him made her face go red. Since she didn't want Shinta to get suspicious and tell Ryou about her '_odd behaviour'_, she quickly stalked past him, hanging her head, "Bye," she said shortly.

Only, she wasn't watching where she was going. Again. Her foot caught on the leg of a chair and she tripped, unable to catch her balance as the thing tumbled down with her. "Gah!"

Before she could throw her arms out to lighten impact, though, she felt a pair of arms catch her first, halting the falling process smoothly and abruptly. When she realized her body had not come into contact with floor, her eyes opened. Blinking, she looked up at Shinta.

"Whoah, careful now," he chided softly, shifting to help her upright again, "I don't think you're fine at all. Think you should lie down."

"I...sorry," she stuttered, feeling suddenly warm. She was up straight again, but Shinta hadn't removed his hands from her shoulders. She wanted to leave, she wanted to go away so he didn't have to see her being such a ditz. But her brain felt frozen. Her body refused to moved.

And her heart was pounding a million miles a minute.

_How does that work? I don't... it's not Ryou... I don't ---!_

"Kona..." he muttered in concern, tilting his head to get a better look at her face, trying to determine what was wrong. She swallowed and looked up at him. They held gazes for several moments, blue and blue, in perfect silence, until a muffled '_Where were you, Strawberry_?' could be heard through the door.

"Uhm, Ichigo's back," she breathed awkwardly, finally managing to pull away from his hold to look out the window. Sure enough, a cheery Ichigo came walking down the path. Only, when Ryou called out to her, her cheeriness faded to a look of contempt and annoyance.

"Why do you sound so_ annoyed_? I left my lovely-wonderful date with Masaya because I was worried about you and the others!"

"You weren't supposed to leave in the first place. And why were you worried? You're the one who wandered around unsafely!"

"Unsafely? _Pssh! _And I was worried because --"

"Ara, are they arguing again?" Yumi, who had evidently been taking a nap, poked her head out the door, Roxi standing right beside her.

"Looks like it," Roxi rubbed her eyes and yawned, opening the door to step out on the porch and watch. Brooke and Kikyo silently followed the commotion, and Kona couldn't help but peek out the door too. She had to look away from Shinta, after all, so he wouldn't see how terribly she was blushing.

"That's a stupid reason," Ryou scoffed, standing up and folding her arms haughtily over his chest, "Everything's _fine_ here! What, do you doubt my skills as a responsible person? Like you'd do any better,"

"You're so mean! And we've all had bad feelings about this, _right_ Brooke?"

Everyone turned to look at Brooke, who said nothing. She wasn't about to get pulled into this stupid argument.

"Don't you pull your little friends into this. The point is, everything's fine here, and you should obey the rules in the first place!"

"Oh, I wouldn't say _that_."

Brooke's eyes widened. Ichigo stiffened. Yumi squeaked, Roxi nearly stumbled over, Kikyo gaped, Shinta ran up, and Ryou suddenly looked a bit pale.

Ari stood there. Only feet away from Ichigo. She was alone, unarmed - for now - but there was something very, very dangerous about her. Her golden eyes were stricken wide, and her lips twisted into a cruel grin, baring her sharp teeth. Her skin looked unhealthily pale, and the air itself seemed to entwine itself around her, concentrated with power, so her hair seemed to float and flit about. The expression on her face was maniacal, unrelenting...murderous... "Nothing seems _'fine' _here at all.

"In fact, I think everything's about to go very, _very _wrong."

--

_Next Chapter:_

_Rage is a flame more dangerous than most. In invoking it, pain will be brought on, time and time again. Between a sudden betrayal, a fire, and an unexpected appearence, will the girls be able to stand up to their final test? Or will they fall at the hands of the enemy?_


	24. Threat

**xuri: **Zomg zomg zomg _zomg! _xD -flails- TEH FINALE BEGINS! Ya'll ready for this? x3 Aaanyways, after this chapter, TWO TO GO:O Who's excited? I AM! xD Plus, since these chapters are... mainly fighting, they turned out much shorter. ;3 _HA_! See? I can limit the violentness. Ish. And excuse the weirdness. It's hard to describe certain things that happen on account of Ari's '_rage-rage power' _x3 It becomes much more intense after this. Are you ready for the twists, cameos, and ultra super_ SUSPENSEFUL _cliffhangers I have in place? xD

And, really, I like this chapter. It's intennseee. So be ready for the intennnsseeeness. xD

SamKo: Yay, people love the giant huggable chapter as much as I do. xD Seriously, it took some serious thinking to get the whole love-triangle-web thing in place... even if it only really involves Ryou, Shinta, Kona and Brooke and a l'il bit of Marzipan. x3 (Ryou luffles Ichigo, who luffs Masaya, but Kona luffles Ryou, even though she's starting to luff Shinta, who kind of luffs Brooke, and Brooke has always kinda luffed Ryou but there's always been that voice in the back of her head pointing at Shinta, and of course there's Marzipan, who luffs Ryou and Ryou's cooking. xD -headache-) Dun dun dun! Ari sure does get evil in this chapter and the next few, which was so fun to write. Plus I just love her and her uber evilness even more now. xD

--

**Blend (chapter twenty-four)**

**..threat..**

_...very, very wrong..._

It was like those three words echoed through the heads of everyone standing in Ari's vicinity. Yes. Yesit was very, _very_ wrong. It was wrong that she was here. It was wrong that they were in the wrong place. It was all _wrong_.

But most wrong of all -

- Ichigo _hadn't_ been wrong. She'd had a bad feeling. She'd had a horrible feeling, in fact. And it was coming to fruit, right before her eyes. Ari, a perfect picture of rage, and anger, and, wrongly enough,_ power_. The air around her was saturated with it. Even Yumi, who was standing at the back of the alarmed group, shivered at the feel of her utterly blatant and vibrating power.

Ari was not wrong. Ari was right. Everything was going to go very, very _wrong_...

"Ichigo-chan!_ Move_!" Roxi shrieked, stumbling forward from the group. Ichigo was too far away to be helped, but the redhead seemed far enough ahead of the rest of them - she jumped back with a gasp and landed quite a few paces safer away from the threatening Ari.

But the alien hadn't even made a move. She just stood there, smiling.

And in the golden depths of her eyes, there shone mirth, amusement, anticipation, anger, pulsating rage, a hint of laughter. But the emotion that shone brightest was hatred - pure, unbridled, maniacally-driven _hatred._ And she stared straight at Ichigo, unmoving.

"A-Ari!" Ichigo stiffened and held her arms out defensively, though, unless she was transformed, she was defenseless. "What are you _doing here_?"

"What am I doing here?..." Her voice was low, her smirk ever bright, her eyes wide and unfaltering.

"...What have I_ ever _been doing here?"

Ichigo shivered. That was all she had a chance to do.

Ari's grin widened, as if in slow motion, and then everything sped up again. She moved_. A lot. _Before Ichigo could even react, step out of the way, cry out, or fight back in and way, shape or form, a shot of blue flame hit her square in the gut. Breathless, she was helpless to do anything to halt Ari's sudden advance, where the girl was taken by the shoulders and slammed against the ground. Her head and back hit the concrete with a shuddering slam. It was a miracle - or a merciless act - that she was still conscious.

"I've got you," Ari stared down at the near delirious Ichigo, pinning her shoulders to the ground. The alien's own voice sounded intoxicated, shaking with rage and delight all at once. Refusing to budge her hold on the girl, Ari leaned down so she could whisper harshly into her ear.

"I've got you now. How does it feel to be so close to death?... To see it staring you_ right in the face_?... To know that in a matter of seconds, your heart will stop beating, and it will _all be over_?"

Ichigo couldn't do a thing. She felt her heart pounding against her ribcage, and could see the murderous glint in Ari's eyes. She was serious. She was done toying around with her, playing mind games... She was _serious..._

And Ichigo was terrified. _Petrified_. Even without words to describe it, she could see it in Ari's eyes - she had no intention of ending it quickly. No, she was going to make her suffer, make her bleed, make her watch as everyone else was destroyed right up until she suffered the most painful and burning death possible...

... and she couldn't do a thing to fight back.

"Ichigo!" Kikyo, transformed as Mew Kitsune, let out a cry, intending to tackle Ari away and blast her with an attack. Ari's senses were heightened, sharpened, as if anger fuelled her to utmost power. Her eyes flickering suddenly from Ichigo to the attacker, she only had to let go of Ichigo for a second in order to unleash a brutal kick to Kikyo, grasp her wrist and nearly tear her weapon away from her before throwing her several paces against the ground. Mew Kitsune didn't have time to even give a single cry of pain. And Ari grabbed a fistful of Ichigo's red head, pulling her up with cries of pained protest to look her in the eye.

"It's useless," she hissed, a glowing dagger appearing in her pale hand, her long fingers curling around the handle as she held it to Ichigo. Ari started laughing, "You're _mine_. All this time - all this time I've had to _fight_ you! But you're weak... you're _so _easy to manipulate... and now, you're _dead_!"

Ichigo choked in horror, pain shooting through her body. Her head throbbed with pressure, and she couldn't turn her eyes away from the copper dagger held just inches away. The others were too far away to help. Besides, if they moved... Ari would lash out for sure. It was _her _she wanted. Not them. If they left, they wouldn't be hurt... her injuries were inevitable at this point..

"..._run_..." Ichigo sobbed, her body tensing at the constant pain, "...Run... please,_ run_!"

"Ichigo...!" Kona breathed in disbelief, but they knew they couldn't do anything. One move, and Ichigo was done for. Roxi and Brooke had already gone to help Kikyo, but they couldn't so much as come close to Ichigo. All they could do was watch her suffer, watch Ari take over slowly...

"Are you ready," Ari whispered, her eyes wide, driven with psychotic reason, "to suffer, experience the most pain you could ever experience without actually dying?"

Ichigo could only whimper, gasping for her. Her chest felt tight, like everything had suddenly started to close in all around her. She couldn't think. She could barely _breath_. And all she heard in her own mind was _...Shirogane. Akasaka-san, Kona, Yumi, Roxi, Brooke, Kikyo, Shinta...Masaya... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...!_

"_ARI_!"

Ari stopped. Without loosening her grip on the girl, she spun around, a cry being released from Ichigo's lips as she was yanked further. Hanajima and Marzipan stood there, staring in utter disbelief. The purple haired alien was still in her human attire, looking dissheveled as if she'd run a great distance. Ryou's eyes widened with realization.

_She's... that girl is Marzipan?_

"Ari," Hanajima stared, wide eyed, refusing to close the distance between them. Dangerous. Just like she'd told Marzipan, Hanajima looked at the alien as if she were the most dangerous thing in the world right now, "...how did you get out?" She whispered.

Ari's lips only widened into a smile.

"Heh. You were trying to keep me trapped, weren't you? You were afraid of my power, so you tried to keep my sealed until I exhausted myself. Useless," her hands flashed, and two daggers appeared in her hands as Ichigo was dropped unceremoniously to the ground in an unmoving heap. Ari was done with her, for now. "You should know that a closed portal is _nothing_ against my full potential, '_Hana-chan'. _You thought you could keep me behind bars, '_Hana-chan'_, that you could keep me from breaking out. Well, you were wrong, '_Hana-chan'_!" She mocked, over and over again, her voice thick with rage but her expression one of unbridled joy.

"Ari!" Hanajima uttered in disbelief, seeing the alien's sights had set themselves on a new target. Ari only had to take one step forward, and then, she was in their faces, prepared to take a swipe at Hanajima, her kind, her _ally._ It was simple to dodge, at first. Ari was brash, acting without thought, only with power. Hanajima had the power to fool the mind, to quickly appear in a place she was not. The first slash cut through her illusion, shattering it. But the second hit her dead on. The blunt edge of the blade smacked across her forehead, knocking her over in a daze - since Ari was acting without thought, she did not _need_ proper use of her mind. Only strength. Only _power_.

Gritting her teeth, Marzipan jumped back, quickly notching an arrow and aiming it at Ari. It was knocked clear out of her hands before she could even release, and she felt a cold blade cut deep just above her cheekbone, and then a blunt kick to the back of her knees. She fell. Ari stood infront of them, victorious, smug.

"_Don't get it my way_," she said evenly, staring at their helpless bodies. Weak. _Useless. _Why had she ever had a need for them, when she had this power all to herself..?

They all watched. They all watched in disbelief, as Ari effortlessly took out her teammates without remorse or struggle. Within seconds, they were down. And Ari was still flaring with that strong, saturating power that could be seen by even the human eye. It was remarkable. It was _horrifying._

Ichigo, once she managed to regain her jumbled senses, sat up and viewed the horror that was Ari, standing only a few feet away from her. As if sensing her presence instantly, the alien coldly turned around, her golden eyes catching sight of the red haired girl and widening in intense anger.

Ichigo's mouth opened, and she froze. Literally froze, as something shot through her, rendering her body useless and paralyzed. Fear? No, it was more_ powerful _than fear.

Ari _was_ fear. She was the epitome of all that was horror and terror in her full range of power, her golden gaze fixed unmovingly on Ichigo, who in turn could not move at all, no matter how hard she fought the force. It sunk into her veins, sinking her to the ground, immobilizing her completely. As she could do was stare wide eyed, helpless, towards Ari. It shook through her, causing her body to experience spasms of pain that no reaction could be made to. Like an unbreakable bottle with an explosive inside, no one could see what pain she was experiencing from the outside.

And, after all _- it's the inside that counts._

Lifting her head, with a smug expression, to face the other girls, they all experienced a similar pain, a similar and paralyzing fear, feeling weighed down suddenly, their movement restricted. As if witnessing her power, her true power for the first time, Ari smiled wickedly.

_This is me. I am all I need..._

"_I-ichigo_...!"

The alien did not have the chance to put the others through the power she'd sent through Ichigo's veins, as in a white blur, a swordsman appeared by her side, a glowing blade arcing down at her from above.

"_Haahhhhh_!" Shinta's own eyes flared with red flame. Ari pulled her gaze, and as if it were a reflex movement, caught the blade against the handles of her sais, cradelling it there as if a breakable toy.

She grinned. "_Fool. _You've seen what I can do. Protecting your little girlfriends - you're as good as dead now. I've had _just about enough of you!"_

As the battle went on, the girls felt their muscles melt, as if the spell of terror was gradually wearing off without the lock of Ari's gaze. Other than gasp for air, they couldn't do anything to help. Even Ryou, who was standing right there, right beside Kona...

"R-ryou," she whimpered, trying to smother the intense pain in her gut. She couldn't even crumble to her knees, only able to stand there in absolute pain.

He himself had been affected by Ari's own power, the power she had been able to use without summoning her blue flame or even the synthesis she'd used on them several times. Ryou could only watch helplessly as those people he'd chosen to throw into danger suffered in silence, until he could watch no more.

Once he was able to move, he put a hand on Kona's shoulder. "I'll be back. I'm going to get Keiichiro!" Lifting it from her, he darted inside, moving fast. There was no time to spare. Not if he wanted them to stay alive.

Letting out a breath, Kona fell to her knees against the concrete, her shoulders trembling almost uncontrollably, "_Ryou..." _But he was safe now. He was out of Ari's reach. If he was protected... then she could fight. She could protect them, without threatening a person so important to her.

Standing back up to her feet, Kona gathered all her energy and transformed into Mew Powder. As Ari was occupied with Shinta, she rushed over to Ichigo and tried to shake her. "Ichigo..._ Ichigo_!"

But Ichigo had felt simply the horrifying_ aura _of Ari's power. When something like that was released, she couldn't even imagine what it would be like, when a simple stare had nearly paralyzed her...

And even now, even with Ari's intent elsewhere, she could not move or react to the pain inside. It continued to bottle up, until it threatened to tear her very soul apart. Tears spurted from her eyes, the only thing that could be remotely moved. She was afraid. She was afraid,_ so afraid_, and she knew she couldn't do a thing... maybe it _was_ the fear, that horrible unrelenting fear, that kept her right where she was?...

"_Join her_!" Ari screamed in rage, retatiliating against a blow from Shinta's sword by pushing off and swinging to form some distance between him. Before Shinta realized the fatal mistake he'd just made, Ari's grin twitched to one of maniacal menace and she brought her two daggers together, fire enveloping the both of them in an instant.

"You're..." as she charged up, Shinta had no way to fight back or even predict the swift strike of her attack, _"...done_!"

Moving fast as a bullet, the giant ball of blue flame shot through the air, straightlining right for the Elemental Swordsman. He had mythic abilities, but he did not have super reflexes. He could not move fast enough to dodge it at all, let alone keep from being engulfed and destroyed by flame. He didn't have the reflex of a cat.

Kona did.

"_MOVE!" _Before he could even draw a breath of surprise, Kona sprung out from the side, pushing Shinta towards the ground in one swift movement. The shot skidded right across her arm and she cried out in pain before thudding against the grass, shaking.

"K-Kona!" Shinta breathed in surprise, staring up at her with wide eyes.

"You're alive," she choked, tears spilling down her cheeks as something reminiscent of a smile appeared on her pale and fear-scrawled face, "_You're alive! _Thank god, thank god, I was so afraid, so afraid, when I saw her pointing at you, I couldn't... I just..." Whimpering she collapsed onto him in a tight and almost suffocating hug, "Thank god, Shin-"

"Ichigo!"

Stopping, Kona pushed herself up and looked to the side, where Shinta was staring in alarm.

Ichigo sat there, absolutely and perfectly still, her face paler than white, her entire body weak, slumped, in shock. Her amber eyes were wide, fearful, terrified, fixed on one solid thing straight ahead of her.

Kona turned her head to see what was in that direction. And she felt like her heart had stopped.

And as it turned out, she wasn't the only one.

_Cafe Mew Mew was engulfed completely in blue flame. _

It seemed to work ten times as fast as normal fire - the building fell apart, crumbling, like it had been made of sticks and paper as the fire overtook it. Swallowed the innocent, pink building hole in a matter of raging seconds. It was falling. Cafe Mew Mew was_ falling_.

"**_SHIROGANE!_**!"

Ichigo was on her feet, the spell broken. And she ran. She ran without stopping, tears streaming from her eyes, ran to the Cafe without pause or hesitation. Her body began to glow a bright white, not slowing down, and then burst into a torrent of sparkles that rained down on the blue flame and extinguished the entire fire, leaving Ichigo transformed in her pink Mew outfit, running as if her life depended on it.

But it was too late. The cafe had fallen, laying in ashes and various clumps, leaving little behind but blackness, smoke, death. Ichigo didn't stop. "Akasaka-san... Shirogane... _Akasaka-san_... _Shirogane_!" 

As she cried out feverishly, the girl reached the remains and fell to her knees, digging helplessly at the debris, digging and digging and digging and not coming up with anything but ash and various pieces of the wall. And still Ichigo dug, crying out the names of the two who had been inside until the fingers of her gloves had worn off, her fingers raw and bleeding. She didn't stop. She _wouldn't_ stop.

As for the others... they couldn't believe their eyes. It had happened in seconds. _Seconds. _And they couldn't do a thing. Kona sat still, tears spilling uncontrollably from her eyes. Roxi was shaking, and Yumi looked like she would faint, her own face unknowingly streaked with tears. Shinta's lips moved, forming the word _'no' _over and over again, as if that would make the truth of the situation disapear. And Brooke fell to her knees, unable to tear her stricken eyes away from the empty space that Cafe Mew Mew had occupied only a minute ago. And they watched Ichigo, digging and shaking and crying out hysterically, not going any good, but refusing to sit by. Refusing to accept that Ryou and Keiichiro had been caught in the fatal and fast fire.

When she couldn't dig any more, having exhausted herself of energy and ability, Ichigo's hands dropped and pressed against the ash covered ground, her pink eyes locked on the remains, quick flowing tears dripping against the dirt in silence.

"If you play with fire," Ichigo heard Ari take a few steps forward, her voice brimming with mirth, "_you get burned_, Ichigo-neko."

In complete quiet, she wiped the tears from her eyes, but they just kept coming. She didn't care. Standing to her feet, still staring in disbelief at the ground, Ichigo lifted her gaze to stare straight at Ari. Straight into her eyes. But she didn't succumb to the fear, even as her ever growing power grazed her face, her neck, her body, feeding off any trace of terror. _There was none._

"How can you do this...?" She whispered, her face solemn even as tears ran down her pale cheeks, "How can you see so many people fall at your hand, and just stand there... smiling, _like it's some game_?" Her Strawberry Bell appeared in her left hand.

Ari just smirked. "Humans are insignificant. You'll mourn their loss. No one else will. In 100 years, _no one _will remember any of the lives lost. Shirogane Ryou. Akasaka Keiichiro." Her smirk widened, "_Momomiya Ichigo_." Her golden eyes drifted lazily to the side, fixing on Shinta who would not look away from the collapsed building. "Don't blame me. Hey,_ boy_," she barked in his direction, "stop looking so surprised. You know this is your fault. _Yours _and _hers_. I was aiming for_ you_, but it really makes no difference. Two lives instead of one is just fine with m-"

"That's _enough_."

Ari looked up as Ichigo stood before her, trembling, her pink eyes focused unfalteringly, her entire body seeming to emit its own power. Slowly, the cat girl held out her heart shaped weapon, tears shining in the corners of her eyes.

"You've hurt so many," she said in a harsh whisper, her grip tightening, "You've done... so much damage. But to do this... to do this to Shirogane and Akasaka-san..." a single tear dropped onto the ground as she stared at Ari pleadingly, her face drawn with sadness, "..._I can never forgive you_!"

The alien's mouth twisted into a sadistic grin.

"You wanna play, huh, neko?" Her arms crossed themselves over her chest. She didn't even need to summon her daggers, her flame, or even synthesis. She was unarmed. But as her golden eyes glinted, intensified, the air around her seemed to shudder, itself, glow and magnify in her very presense. Ari lifted her head. There was murder in the air.

In a harsh, low whisper, she directed at Ichigo, "Then play the game. No one's stopping you..." The air shook, seemed to twist and twine around her, working like a vicious current, swirling like a whirling pool of power. Not stopping, not pausing... merciless... _murderous_...

The tears kept falling. She didn't care. Ichigo would cry all she wanted. But she couldn't - no, she_ wouldn't _- let Ari get away with this. Not with murdering Ryou and Keiichiro. No. That was unforgiveable. She remembered what Lettuce had said once - _'The aliens have feelings. They're just like us. Why do we have to fight someone who is just like us?'. _But as she looked at Ari now, Ichigo saw no feeling. No emotion. Nothing _remotely _human about the alien. She didn't have feeling _at all_. Ichigo had accused her of falling in love with Kishu - but as the cat girl looked at her now, she realized that Ari could never _love _anything. She was a heartless, cold-blooded murderer. Ichigo had made a mistake when she thought Ari was capable of feeling emotions like compassion or love.

Holding her bell tightly in hand, she aimed it at Ari, water still streaming down her face in the form of undescribable sadness. She would not forgive Ari. She _wouldn't_. Not when she'd taken two very important people from her life... _forever_...

It didn't matter. It didn't matter how much pain Ari would go through, how much she would suffer. Not when Ichigo had already suffered so much. She'd always thought no one deserved to be put through pain, even the aliens. Only Ari. Only selfish, cold, murderous Ari. She didn't deserve an ounce of compassion or sympathy. _Not one_.

Opening her mouth to say the vital incantation, the air suddenly rippled again.

And she felt it. Ichigo felt it against her, against her skin, through her veins, through her mind. It was not fear. No, this time it was_ much _worse than fear. All she saw was Ari, her face mad with glee, until her mind seemed to blank out. Like a television having suddenly lost its signal, Ichigo lost control of her mind.

Or, at least, what she saw through her mind. Ari's power shone through at that moment; Kona watched in horror, still crying from the fire, still shaking because she couldn't do _anything. _The others were no different. They were helpless. Every last one of them was helpless. Marzipan was unconsious against the ground, and Hanajima lay awake, with her eyes open, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as she stared up at the sky. The two of them could do no more. They were under Ari's spell, her spell of power and control.

As for Ichigo - they saw her face pale. They saw her eyes widen in horror, her bell drop to the ground as her hands fell limp at her sides. But none of them could even _begin_ to imagine that things that were happening to her on the _inside_.

Pain. Pain flashed through her, once, twice, three times. Continously. Through her arms, her legs, it felt like the same fire that had devoured Cafe Mew Mew and those inside, tearing her apart piece by piece until she lay in a heap of shreds. Immobolized - by the pain, by the fear that coursed through her, and the power that Ari had sent at her - Ichigo could do _nothing_. She couldn't fight back. She couldn't even bring forth tears. She was helpless, just as helpless as the others. Helpless, hopeless, without a hope in the world...

Ari grinned wickedly, watching her prey suffer. No intereference. No attacks to worry about. She had Momomiya Ichigo in the palm of her hand... as if confirming this, Ari outstretched her arm, her blue hair flaring around her as wildly as her gold speckled eyes, her hand blocking the image of the struggling Ichigo from her sight. Then she closed her hand tightly into a fist. And squeezed.

Ichigo's chest felt tight. She felt like her throat was closing, like her entire body was collapsing under the pressure that wasn't there. But worst of all, there were images - horrible, frightening images that accompanied the pain constantly shooting throughout her body. Fires. Ryou, dying. Keiichiro, dying. Kona and Roxi and Yumi screaming, blood, Masaya, Brooke's wing tearing into shreds of black feathers, Shinta falling into a storming merciless ocean, Masaya, Kikyo clutching at her head and screaming as her body was engulfed by acid, Masaya, all of them staring at her, staring at her with dead eyes, Masaya... Masaya covered in blood, his blood, looking at Ichigo pleadingly with hollow eyes as he crumpled to the ground, life leaving him as if in a breath.

"**_NO_**!" As the horrific images, words, pains, tightness, breath shortage paraded around, took over her as a result of Ari's unrelenting rage-induced power, Ichigo opened her mouth and screamed. Glass shattering, it filled the air, filling the ears of them all around, a scream of undescribable pain.

The others seemed snapped out of their trances. Out of their misery, their wallowing, their mourning the losses of important lives. And they saw Ichigo, Ichigo in pain, Ichigo alone, Ichigo screaming as her mind seemed to be literally ripping itself apart inside her head.

They had to help her. That was all there was to it - _they had to help her_.

But as they climbed to their feet, ready to transform, ready to attack Ari and break the spell she held over Ichigo, over all of them, the air flashed. They turned. Ari turned. Ichigo fell.

There was silence. Because only one person, only one _conscious _person, recognized the figure that stood there, beyond that faded light. The face that stared with anger and puzzlement, straight at Ari, whose arms suddenly fell to her sides as she stared in disbelief as they spoke.

"What in the hell--**_ Ichigo_**?"

--

_Next Chapter:_

_Power should not be placed in the wrong hands. But power has. Ultimate sacrifices are made as Ari reaches the climax of her power, threatening to destroy the Mews and all they hold dear. Ichigo is fuelled by the desire to avenge the death of two important people - but will it be enough?_


	25. Rage

**xuri:** Uweh, this is fun. xD I love these last few chapters the most, I think. They're so intense. So fun. So exhilirating. xD For me, anyways. And, oh my! ;O After this chapter, there's only one left! How time flies. ;3

But, anyways, I've been considering doing a bonus chapter, if you guys wanted to see it. Since I'm gonna kind of miss this story and the characters... but, yeah. I was kinda thinking of doing either a cutesy AU kind of chapter - sort of like the Petite Mew Mew stories found in some manga volumes - or a character sheet chapter, where I explain some of the OC charries in more detail, since there were a lot of little things about them I either didn't throw in or either got to only imply a little bit. ;3 Or both, if you'd like. Let me know what you guys think!

And check out the drawings on my profile if you haven't already. ;3 Thankies!

---

**Blend (chapter twenty-five)**

**..rage..**

She was hallucinating.

_"What in the he-- **Ichigo?"**_

She _had_ to be hallucinating.

Ichigo, with her head pressed up against the cement after she'd fallen, too weak and horrified to move, had almost gone unconsious. Almost. After Ari had released the power hold on her, made the images and screams and pain stop, she fell, and with pleasant numbness of her mind, was ready to black out. She didn't want to see anymore. She didn't want to _feel _anymore. Ari had done so much damage that she made Ichigo wish she _was_ dead, as she lie in a heap against the sidewalk.

But the one thing that kept her from falling into the black and unfeeling world was the voice she heard.

But it couldn't be real. There was_ no way_.

Ichigo inhaled shakily, her breath shaking and her chest and throat feeling bruised. Then, using her hands firmly planted on the ground as support, the cat girl pushed herself up, her vision fading in and out. Sitting up as tall as she could, she stared in a daze. She blinked.

_Oho_. That was no hallucination. The stares directed in that very direction told her the same thing. As well as the fact that Ari suddenly looked as dazed as Ichigo, herself, did.

"_Kishu?"_

Lo and behold. The green haired male alien in question stood there, looking to be in complete shock, his wide eyes fixed on the fallen Ichigo. At the same time, everyone else's eyes were fixed on _him_.

Including Ari. All the emotions, all the rage and glee and maniacal laughter etched on her face, had faded into something of a blank look. As if seeing Kishu standing there before her wiped all of that away. "...K-kishu-sama..." She breathed. But his attention wasn't on her.

"Koneko-chan... _Ichigo_!" Kishu repeated, immediately storming forward past the others to the fallen pink haired girl. Who, while still not believing her eyes, robotically stood to her feet, knees buckling, though she took no notice.

"Kishu... _Kishu?" _Ichigo mouthed with a frown, and, feeling a wave of dizziness overcome her, pressed a hand to her forehead, "What is he... what are you doing here?"

Halting infront of the girl, he stared at her in disbelief. "Koneko-chan, what the _hell_ happened to you? I heard you scream, and I just --"

"You heard... me scream?" Ichigo stared at him with a puzzled glance. He nodded solemnly, touching her face with a serious expression. Ichigo winced. Even that felt like a bruise now.

"Hanajima was --"

Cutting himself off, his eyes widened as he quickly turned around, seeing the two other aliens on the ground in a heaping mess. Marzipan was turned with her back to him, so he couldn't tell whether or not she was conscious. Hanajima was, though, and her bloodied lips curled into a slight smile.

"Kishu-kun," she laughed to herself, letting her eyes close as she breathed heavily, "I thought you'd be gone by now."

"You're the one who called me here," he retorted, his hand still gingerly on Ichigo's face, "I can't leave that quickly, you know. Besides, you just took off all of a sudden, I didn't understand what was going on. You didn't finish telling me about the '_rage problem'_. What was that all about? ...Hanajima? Why are you ---" Stopping, his eyes turned to look at the blue haired alien. "...Did _she _do this?"

Even as Kishu had rushed past her for Ichigo, Ari stood there, as if in a trance. It was as if she'd suddenly been blindfolded, and gagged, as so words seemed to escape her mouth, no emotion from her eyes. Slowly, as she heard his voice spilling in her direction, she turned around with wide eyes, staring straight at him.

"Kishu-sama..."

Ari murmured, and, quietly, began to step towards him. Slowly, slowly, and all Kishu was able to do was stare back at her with a strange look on his face. It didn't matter. She came closer until she was only inches away, staring up into his eyes, still a spaced out expression in hers.

Kishu, in curiosity and puzzlement, pulled his hand away from Ichigo and stared back, frowning. Then, he opened his mouth, as if to say, '_what?'_

But before he could get the chance, Ari reached out. And she gently touched her hands to his face, staring straight up into his eyes. Kishu blinked. Then blinked again. Clearly, having no idea what was going on, even now.

"Kishu...sama..." she whispered again, and then, just as suddenly, her face darkened. The blank look slipped away as if a thin sheet, anger flickering in her eyes, her lips twisting into a scowl. But before Kishu could even react, her hands jerked from his face to his throat. And tightened.

"Kishu!" Ichigo screamed in alarm, and stumbled forward, only to lose her footing and fall before she could do anything. Her elbows scraped against the cement and she made a hissing noise between her teeth as she tried to dull the pain, looking back up at the spectacle before her.

"That's... that's Kishu, '_Kishu-sama'_?" Kona was frozen where she was, unable to believe her own eyes.

"Who?" Yumi and the others were lost, because, in reality, only Ichigo and Ari seemed to know the alien at all.

"Kishu. Kishu, the alien Ari's '_defending_' by destroying Ichigo. The alien _Ari's in love with_." Her voice shook, out of complete confusion and bewilderment, "So why is she... _why is she _----?"

"Ggg...ggh!" The shock fading from his face, Kishu closed one eye and tried to pry Ari's hands off his throat. She stared at him darkly, angrily, that unmistakeable power floating all around her once more as if gathering, attracted to her fury. She wouldn't let go. Kishu felt immense pain in his throat, as she held on tightly, so tightly, and managed to lift him above eye level a few inches off the ground.

"You _traitor," _she spat, tightening her grip without hesitation, "You_ weakling_! Because of you and your weakness, we've all had to suffer. Because of _kitten_ and her spells, you failed_. We _failed!" He teeth clenching together, and her knuckles went white. Suddenly, a sly, maniacal grin appeared on her face, as a blue substance appeared and slithered down her arms. Synthesis. "Why didn't you _see_?" Her voice was lower, but still strong, echoing with the sound of enraged power, "Why...couldn't you _see_? Even after you failed, the only one in your eyes was_ her_! The_enemy_!" There was something gleefully dark in her voice as the Synthesis snaked around his neck, tightening whilst staying attached to her arms, "I _despise _you. You're nothing but manipulative, weak, blind... _you don't deserve power_!"

"_W-what_ are you --" Kishu managed, his voice strangled, cracked from the pressure applied. Ari didn't let up. But the Synthesis retracted as her grin of menace grew, wider, wider, fading back into her body. And then, as a look of realization suddenly dawned on the green haired alien's face, he was dropped to the ground, muscles contracting in a giant inhale.

He couldn't stop her. She just said, strongly, slyly, "You don't even deserve_ life_," as she suddenly pinned him to the ground, pressing her hands against his chest. His own yellow eyes widened in terror as his mouth opened, like a gaping fish, one shaken cry erupting from his throat before a light emerged from his chest. Ari seemed to draw it out with her hands, like a sticky, glowing substance, gathering into one near-solid form. And then his eyes glazed and his body fell limp against the ground, face pale, expression dead.

Holding the glowing mass between her hands, his energy, his life force, Ari stood to her feet, staring down at it with pure, insane delight. And a tear slid down her cheek, the only sign of life emotion behind the anger that had consumed her. The darkness that took over her mind.

And she looked down at him, laying there lifeless. And she laughed. Her shoulders shaking, her grin wide and uncontrollably maniacal, her eyes stricken with pleasure and tainted happiness.

Ichigo felt breath leave her. "She's..." None of the others understood what had happened. They knew it was threatening. Just not _how_ threatening it really was, "...she... stole Kishu's power!"

"What?" Kikyo turned to stare at her in shock, but Ichigo said nothing. Fear suddenly threatened to consume her again. But Ari didn't take notice. Other things captivated her interest.

Without even looking at them, Ari held her hand out to the side. Hanajima's eyes widened, and she tried to push herself up, tried to get away. But it was too late. Just as Kishu had, she let out a cry as the force was drained from her, leaving her empty on the ground, as well as Marzipan, the energy gathering before them and retreating to Ari's outstretched hands. Glee was scrawled on her face, as the light shone brightly on it. She was like some terrifying Goddess, overwhelmed with her own power. Overwhelming others at the same time.

And suddenly, Ichigo understood what she was about to do. Her eyes grew in horror, just as Kishu's had before they went dead, before they lost all signs of life within them, "Stop," she strained, tried to be heard, but her voice was meek, cracked, as she struggled to her feet, staring in horror, "Ari, _stop_!"

Ari just looked at her wickedly, golden eyes glinting. "Why would I stop?" She mused, the corners of her lips twitching, "The game's only just begun."

And she raised her hands into the air. Ichigo cried out in protest, tried to gather her bell to stop her, but it wasn't possible. The air suddenly whipped more violently around her than it had before, raising her into the air in a torrent of wind and energy. She stood there, grinning, fabricated power floating right before her. All around her. Arms raised into the sky, power swirling, consuming, eminating terror; the muscles in her hands tensed, head leaning back, eyes staring blindly at the intense light above, pure ecstasy scrawled on her face.

She was going to play, and she was going to win. For good.

"_Fusion!"_

The light burst, like a bubble, pouring over Ari's body, consuming every inch of skin , twining around her like thick and binding rope. Brightness emitted from it more strongly with every passing second, so much that anyone surrounding had to shield their eyes from the overwhelming amount of light. Ichigo's breath caught in horror.

She'd been powerful before._ Powerful enough_. But now... she could see Kishu, and Marzipan, and Hanajima, laying lifeless, powerless, soulless. Ari had gone too far. Ari had absorbed power she should have never come into contact with...

And as it grew brighter, Ichigo and the others heard laughter from within. Glee, victory, acceptance of power. Ichigo's shoulders tensed and she shuddered, tears pricking at her eyes. _This can't be the end... this can't be the end!_

But as the light faded, revealing Ari, energy and strength practically glowing from her body, she knew it was. Ichigo could see, just by looking at her form, that they were beyond saving. Ari was the monster, and now she had control. The control, the _ability_, to destroy anything in her path.

"Ichigo-chan..." Roxi couldn't pry her eyes from the scene, her voice shaking and cracked, face no less pale than any of the others.

Ichigo let out a weak sob. "She took it," she whispered, feeling her brain go numb with fear, "...Kishu's power, she took it...and she used it on herself."

No one else knew what Kishu had been capable of, his ability to fuse human souls with chimera abilities. But they could tell by Ichigo's tone, by the power that engulfed their eyes and senses, that this was a horrible thing. That, as the light faded and Ari came back into full view, she had somehow fused the souls of three aliens with her own, with the power of the _Fusion_.

Ichigo saw her, standing there, and at glance, nothing had changed. Ari was still Ari. But the strength of emotion in her gold-depth eyes showed that she was _not_ the same as she had been just seconds ago. Her power had grown, multiplied, and she stood there, emanating something capable of great destruction. Her focus settled on Ichigo, and her lips curled into a maniacal smile, baring sharp, blood thirsty teeth. She was no longer _just _Ari. She was an entire new being.

_'Chimera Ari'._

"_ICHIGO!" _Kikyo burst forward with a cry, seeing that murderous gaze that had been set on the cat girl. She intended to stop it, to stop Ari before she could unleash the potential they could all so clearly see. Crying out, Mew Kitsune focused her Charm on the alien target, yelling out the incantation.

Ari simply turned lazily towards the fox girl, uncaringly, and she grinned. And just as the energy was about to blast right at her face, she effortlessly sprung up from her feet. That alone caught Kikyo horribly off guard, losing her aim and target completely within a split second. And then, her figure blurred, and she didn't realize what had happened until Kikyo felt a set of claws slash at her side, leaving her to cry out in anguish.

Ari swivelled around in the air, her grin not fading, a few droplets of blood splattered against her cheek. She held out one hand, from which now protruded long, claw-like nails, soaked in red. She watched with a grin as Kikyo, on her knees, let out shaky breaths, trying to stop the bleeding, her weapon several feet away. And Ari's golden eyes widened with delight, the pupils narrowed, cat-like.

"Fox in a box," she mused, stepping lightly over and looking down at the girl, who seemed to be in too much pain to notice. Ari's sharp teeth glinted, and she hissed, "A fox, a fox," A dark look suddenly consuming her face, she drew her hands back and plunged them towards the helpless girl's back.

"_STOP! _Ribbon Raspberry _Dazzle_!" Before her sharp, lethal claws could come into contact, a bright light flashed right for her. Ari whipped around and jumped up into the air, a pair of black dragon wings bursting from her back and carrying her high into the air, far out of hitting range.

"_Wha_! How'd she do that?" Yumi cried in disbelief, staring.

"_Yumi-chan, get out of the way!"_

Chimera Ari burst into a fit of cackling laughter, spreading her arms out as if embracing the skies, "What power, what _power_! I can do anything... I can _be_ anything... _this is my strength!" _Without even giving a glare or twitch as warning, she changed direction and dove down for the horse girl, the wings folding in her back to streamline her shape.

Shrieking, Yumi seemed to catch on just in time, bounding out of the way and narrowly avoiding a head on clash with the alien. Just to prove how close they'd gotten, a drop of blood trickled down her ankle after she landed on the ground, panting.

Ari, on the other hand, made a smooth landing. Catching the ground with her arms as if it were a throw pillow, she pushed off, her arms suddenly leathery, strong. Neatly landing on her feet with cat reflexes, she whirled around, the maniacal look on her face only growing rapidly. Before the girl could even react, she thrust her palms into the air, which suddenly began to ripple, creating a high pitched ringing sound.

Gasping, Yumi's hands flew over her horse ears and she winced, the sound at such a frequency that only she could hear it. But it hurt her more than it could possibly hurt anyone else. Ari's grin only widened and she spread her palms out more, obviously increasing the sound. Yumi pressed and pressed, trying to block it out, but only succumbed to severe mental pain. Finally, she collapsed against the ground, her body tense and her face frozen in struggle.

"_Yumi-chan_!" Roxi screamed, tears subconsiously splashing down her face. She was afraid. Oh, she was _so_ afraid, and completely petrified, shaking and staring in horror. There was no way she could stand up against Ari. With every mood she made, the alien seemed to draw on the Fusion ability, fusing her and the other aliens' souls with an array of different animals, all of which promised great power. How could any of them stand up to _that_?

"Two down!" Her voice was uncontrollably ecstatic as she laughed almost madly. Kikyo tried crawling feebly towards her weapon, but Chimera Ari unleashed thread from her finger tips, which shot out towards the fox girl and entangled her, almost like a spider's web. Arms bound to the side, she collapsed breathlessly, Ari's hands moving like a puppeteer's as she wove a strand of bonding thread around her throat. Mirth graced the alien's lips. "...you don't want to play anymore, _Kitsune-chan_?" And she pulled back viciously, Kikyo's head rearing soundlessly as she struggled against the pressure.

Ichigo ran over, wasting no time. Normal attacks weren't working. Ari's power was beyond that. So, what would? "Roxi!" She cried, and the fearful brunette looked at her before nodding, taking a deep breath and holding her Cherry Wand out before her. Ichigo tried to keep the tears of fear from her eyes as she aimed carefully.

"Ribbon Cherry _Burst_!"

"Ribbon Strawberry _Check_!"

The two lights merged together effectively after being released at nearly the same time, swirling in quick fury towards their target. It struck the thread binding Kikyo to Ari's hands, and it snapped, loosening the hold around the girl's throat and allowing her to fall limp to the ground, filling her lungs with air. At the same time, Ari was unable to pull away from the binding, and the light that reached her mostly struck her hands, having a burning effect on them. Recoiling with what first appeared to be a look of pain, Ari turned on her heel to face the offending Mews. Roxi and Ichigo stiffened.

Demonic. She was _demonic_. Small, thick horns had appeared along the crown of her head, her teeth sharper and more visible than ever. Large, tattered dragon wings graced her back, fading into the thick and almost scaley skin that had covered her arms and legs. Now bits of spider's silk thread hung wrapped from her fingers. And the power had not faded - if anything, it was _still growing _at an unbelievably constant rate.

And those _eyes..._

The only appearence of pain they had seen on her Demon-Goddess face thus far melted into that familiar look of delight-driven-rage. And she would not remove her gaze from them. Chimera Ari's eyes widened, as did her grin, and her feet were angled so she could spring at them at any time, from any place, to any effect... they wouldn't see her coming...

"_Mitsukai Ken_!" Brooke flashed by in a whir of black, the tip of her blade slicing Ari's shoulder. The alien blinked and turned, to see the half-angel girl glide by, using her wing to her advantage by spreading it so she could make an easy and swooping turn for a consecutive attack. But Ichigo saw that the girl wouldn't get the chance.

"_Brooke_!"

"Brooke-chan!"

"_Haahh_!" Her teeth clenching as she let out a cry, Ari swiftly swung her hands out, a power bursting from her hands that imitated a strong wind, catching onto Brooke's wing and tossing her back into the air until her back slammed against the gate, her body crumpling in a heap. Chimera Ari then whirled around, her focus quickly shifted to the two attackers. Ichigo wouldn't give her anymore chances.

"Kikyo! Brooke!" She sobbed in agony, and then swung her Bell outward, wings bursting from the heart center. "Ribbon Strawberry _Surprise_!"

The light that flew forth was interupted by a pale, mad-struck face, glee written across her features. Too late. _Too weak_. Ichigo felt a claw at her neck before she could even see Ari fully...

Footstep. "_Daigeki Sono Meimei Nanatsu_!" And the two were blown apart by a massive burst of elemental energies, a combonation from Shinta's sword. The swordsman stood there himself, both swords outstretched, glowing with an intense aura. Ichigo managed to land back on her feet. Ari seemed to try to use her wings to catch herself, but the angle wasn't right - she went skidding across the pavement, laying still as she rolled to a stop. Shinta, breathing heavily, relaxed, falling to his knees and allowing the swords to set against the ground. The fight was over. Ari was -

-_ not dead_. Everyone else seemed to think so. The alien lay limp against the ground, her eyes shut, warm and fresh blood trailing down her shoulders, arms and face. But Ichigo didn't let her guard down. She couldn't. It couldn't have possibly been so easy - Shinta's attack had been powerful, powerful enough to push Ari back and create a collision with the ground, but how was that enough to bring such a strong demoness down?

And Ichigo was right. As soon as everyone seemed sure she was dead, or at least down, her golden eyes flashed open. And before anything could be done, the air burst and swirled around her as she raised herself to her feet, floating just inches above the ground, her eyes nearly shot with bloodthirst. And there she was - the perfect demoness. Wings outstretched, eyes red with fury, claws extended, all her powers heightened to the utmost.

There was no where to run.

Kona reacted more quickly than the others. "Get down!" She shouted, and, leaping up into the air, she aimed her circular weapon toward the alien, "Ribbon --"

Twisting her body in an almost elastic fashion, Chimera Ari swatted Kona from the air effortlessly, the cat girl crying out as she collided with the ground, resulting in a thick cloud of dust. And as the others rushed to help her, to help the other two, the power engulfing Ari gave a powerful flare and she held her palms out, eyes glinting.

"_Game. Over." _

Dropping to the ground, her legs split enough so she could bend and slam her hands against the earth. It had massive impact. Not only did the contact cause the ground to shake, it began to split, to move and shift, severl chunks of solid land raising up and dropping down. None of the girls could keep their footing. None of them could stay standing long enough to run before they were trapped beneath slabs of rock, dirt, and land. Yumi and Kikyo's helpless bodies were pinned tightly beneath all the debris. Kona's leg and tail were caught between two thick sections, Roxi's chest was trapped, and Brooke and Shinta had both disappeared for the most part beneath all the rumble. When it finally stopped at Ari's will, Ichigo was the worst off. Her legs and arms were pinned effectively, so one move could mean tearing a limb. And she was exposed. Completely, and utterly exposed to Ari's power.

"Ichigo-neko..." Ari's grin widened as she lowered herself to the ground, taking her sweet, sweet time. There was no one to fight back, after all. No one to keep her from her desired target. And still the power flared strongly around her, as if charging up to one vital and fatal attack. Ichigo couldn't even struggle, and her Bell was somewhere buried beneath all the rock, far out of her reach. She could only stare into Ari's golden eyes, trying to keep fear from brimming from her own.

"Finally," the blue haired alien's voice was low as she stepped forward boldly, the wind fabricated around her picking up. She locked gazes with the cat girl. "_Finally_. I have you. There's no where to run. No one to save you, neko, precious neko. Not from me. Not from this _power..."_

A laugh lightly rumbling from her throat as she advanced on, slowly, her eyes glimmered mischieviously. Murderously. And she examined her hand, as if seeing her own strength vibrating from her skin right before her. "...I don't just need revenge anymore," Her grin re-appeared and her hand suddenly clenched into a fist, "I can do anything. I can _be_ anything. I can complete Kishu-sama's mission, our mission... I can _take back the Earth._ And this time..." Blue flame engulfed her body in a burst of power. Her wings went rigid. **_"I can do it myself_!"**

Clasping her hands together, that maniacal expression remained, strongly, and all her power seemed to gather there. She wasn't going to do any unfinished. Ichigo could feel tears pricking at her eyes, her face paling. No. This was the end. She could see, they could all see, as the flame and the energy all gathered around one focal point, binding together, charging.

Ichigo wasn't just letting herself down. All the others were at risk. And just like before, the _Earth_ was at risk. She'd failed. Not only for herself, or her well being, or for Kishu and Hanajima and Marzipan, but she'd failed_ ultimately_. And she wouldn't even get the chance to say_ 'I'm sorry'_.

"Bye bye," Ari's voice was disturbingly soft as she raised her hands up in the air, in perfect silence. Then a grin cracked itself onto her face, eyes widened with glee. "_Momomiya Ichigo_!"

_I'm sorry..._

There was light.

"Ribbon Lettuce _Rush!"_

And then, a rush of water and air dousing the flame, interupting Chimera Ari mid-attack. Ichigo remained in a daze. Was she dead?

"Ichigo..._ Ichigo-san!"_

She blinked, suddenly hearing rapid footsteps and a flash of green hair as wide eyes greeted her. It couldn't be. "...Lettuce?" Was this some kind of flashback? Maybe it would be like a review of her memories, before she was carried off to the afterlife. Ichigo was glad. She wanted to see her friends, one last time...

Only, she saw Ari again. Drenched, still in her demoness form, anger spiralling all around her. Why was_ she _in this? When her life flashed before her eyes, wasn't Ichigo supposed to be greeted with pleasant memories instead of foul ones? And even as she thought to herself, the memory Lettuce still in the corner of her eye, Ari seemed to get angrier and angrier. Leaning back for a furious attack.

There was an all too familiar rumble in the ground, and another bright flash. "Ribbon Pudding Ring _-- Inferno_!"

And just as she'd reeled back for a hit, a trench filled with light hit her, sealing her in an oversized blob of pudding. Ichigo watched curiously. What did this all mean? Suddenly, Pudding's face appeared, breathless, but smiling, "I did it! I did it, Ichigo-oneechan! I stopped the bad guy, na no da! Why are you covered in rocks?"

Rocks? Ichigo realized the rocks were still there. She tried moving an arm. She still felt the pain. So that meant she was still alive. Which meant...

"Y-you guys!"

With Ari temporarily stuck in the translucent blob, a rope of purple whisked by, attaching itself to the heavy rocks and lifting them gently off Ichigo's limbs. A few of them were shattered by arrow, and the others disapeared as a result of flashing pink light, until Ichigo was free of the trap. The green haired Lettuce, worried smile ever present on her face, leaned down to help her up.

"Ichigo-san, you can stand, can't you? Please, don't push yourself, you're bleeding,"

Still in disbelief, she allowed herself to be helped up and supported against Lettuce's shoulder, feeling her own senses coming back to their normal strengths. Then, looking up with wide eyes, she saw them. Mint. Zakuro. Berii. Pudding. And Lettuce, who was acting as a temporary standstill crutch for her. Unexpectantly, she found herself blinking back tears.

"Everyone... you - _you came back_!"

"Of course we did!" Berii piped brightly, resting her short staff along her shoulder with a grin, "You don't think we'd let you get yourself in _too_ much trouble, do ya now?"

"I don't know how to describe it," explained Lettuce tentatively, as she allowed Ichigo's arms to ease away from her as the pink cat girl attempted to stand on her own, "but one day I just got this... _strange feeling_. Intuition, I think some call it, but I knew I had to come back. And I guess we all felt it, because we all suddenly met at the airport, and because of that we knew something was wrong, so... we came here."

The others nodded solemnly in agreement, as Ichigo was somewhat dazed, unsure whether she should consider this a dream or reality. They were all here._ Everyone_. And she found herself smiling through tears of joy, though it faded rather quickly when she remembered the situation.

"...the others... they-!" Turning with a start, she saw Zakuro catch sight of one of the others buried beneath the rubble, and nod.

"I'm on it," she said briskly, and, slipping her Crosswhip back into hand, she immediately created a band of light that snapped across the air, digging them out and gingerly lying them back onto the ground. All the while, the others watched in curiousity when they realized these '_others_' had animal parts, much like them, as well as pendants resting on their necks and various marks.

"Hey, who are _they_?" Mint asked, cocking an eyebrow towards Ichigo with her hands on her hips, "So quick to replace us? My, things never change, do they, Ichigo?"

Ichigo blinked. "Mou, it's not like that! You guys weren't here, so we had to fight back somehow, and I'm not powerful enough, and - "

"Sooo, the aliens are back, huh, na no da?" Balling her hands into fists and grinning, Pudding raised them up in mock fighting stance towards the pudding-bound Chimera Ari, "We'll just have to send them back again to Taru-Taru's home! Na no da!"

Ichigo couldn't help but smile. "Minah..." But it was just as quick to fade as Lettuce spoke again, before she'd even gotten the chance to view her surroundings.

"Where is Shirogane-san? And Akasaka-san?"

There was only silence in response as Ichigo's gaze fell to the ground, and then, filled with tears, this time of anything but joy, to the area behind them. They turned around.

And they saw.

"..._no_..."

Lettuce was already crying. Soundlessly, tears were suddenly streaming down her face, her green eyes wide with fright, horror, and despair. The others didn't seem to be able to believe what they saw. Or, rather, the absense thereof. Where Cafe Mew Mew had once occupied, there was emptiness, and below that emptiness sat rubble, ash, remains.

"Oh my god..." Mint was not crying like Lettuce, but she instead looked like she was completely horrified. Zakuro's usual blank expression was something the same, for once, and Pudding was all tears.

"No way... no way, na no da!"

"Sh-shirogane-san...and..." Lettuce's voice choking from the sobs, she lifted her hand to point, "...Akasaka-san... they're...?"

Ichigo nodded, and found tears running down her own face again in silence. Aside from a choked sob from Lettuce, all was silent.

"_She_ did this," turning to see Zakuro speak solemnly, Ichigo looked over her shoulder at the captive Ari who she was referring to, "didn't she?"

They all looked, and Ichigo was quiet. But before she could even nod, a light suddenly balled itself up, and the gel shook, before bursting into a million tiny, tiny pieces. Ari was released from her dessert prison, fuming with anger. And it seemed capturing her was a mistake - it only seemed to compress her power, concentrate it so it was even stronger.

And the anger seemed to only multiply it more.

"Neko!" She spat, but her smile suddenly grew when she saw the others. "...there's more of you, is there? Ahh, you're neko's original group, aren't you? Well, welcome hom --"

"RIBBON LETTUCE _RUSH_!" Screaming with tears in her eyes, Lettuce suddenly jumped forward, thrusting out her castanets and blasting the alien with a rush of water. Unphazed, Ari swung her hands out, creating a flaming barrier between the two, deflecting the blow.

"You're all _weak_!" She cried, and thrust her arms forward, sending the water straight back at the attacker. Lettuce screamed as she was sent flying back, hitting the ground soaked with water.

That seemed to wake the rest of them up. Grunting, Kona pushed herself from the ground and blinked, a few droplets of water in her eyes. _Ari... _They widened when she saw the sudden addition of five girls. Yumi was up as well, rubbing her head in a daze.

"Ara... Who're...they?"

"Lettuce!" Berii cried and pulled her wand out, "Ribbon Loveberry_ Check_!"

Ari's wings spread out and she propelled into the air, diving clear out of the way and towards the offending bunny girl. "See ya, _neko-usagi_!" She yelled, her hands and claws aimed right for the blonde.

"Zakuro _Pure_!" Light whipped outward, wrapped itself around Ari's leg and jerked her backwards, keeping Berii temporarily out of harm's way. Mint and Pudding jumped in to take advantage of the situation.

"Ribbon Mint Echo!"

"Ribbon Pudding Ring -- _Inferno_!"

An arrow shot towards towards her, followed by a burst of light breaking through the ground. Even as Ari's movement was limited, perhaps even completely restricted, she grinned. Yanking her foot forward as momentum, she allowed the arrow to come into contact with her palm, drawing blood. But at the same time, she'd formed a small field against the force, which immediately fought to repel the attack from where it came, in turn sending the wave of energy back towards the two girls.

"Huuaaahh!" They were cut off as their own attacks caught Pudding and Mint, trapping them in a blob of jello-like-pudding just as Ari had been.

"Pudding! Mint!" Zakuro cried, though it was a mistake to draw her attention away. Having been connected to the whip, it was a simple matter for Ari to use it to fly over and connect her foot to the wolf-fused girl's face with force, easily knocking her over and heavily bruising her cheek.

"Heh," feet halting just inches above the battle ground, Ari felt her grin widening, and she looked up, amused. "Bravo, bravo. You've all put up a wonderful fight. It hasn't made the game worth playing, but it's been a _delightful waste of my time_," the air sparked around her as she raised herself into the air, out of harm's way. Ari's golden eyes flashed. "I'm afraid it's time for me to take the win. It's - been -_ fun_!"

Letting out a cry, she clasped her hands together tightly, summoning an inhuman amount of energy all around her, as it sparked and lit about like a living flame.

"Berii!" Clasping her Strawberry Bell, Ichigo finished checking on the others and letting Mint and Pudding out of their seal. The bunny girl paused, holding her wand, and nodded.

"Hai. Ready, Ichigo?"

Wordlessly, the two of them focused on the charging Chimera Ari. They weren't going to let her finish.

"Ribbon!"

Light glimmering from each of their weapons, Berii and Ichigo both stepped forward in almost perfect unison. "Double Berry... _Check!"_

Ari grinned as the light flashed up, putting her hands out to deflect the attack as she had done others. Her eyes widened in shock as the power barrier cracked, unable to further resist, and then completely collapsed, leaving her with the full blow of the two girls' attacks.

"Yaaahhhhh!" Shrieking in pain, the light tore through her, sending her plummeting to the ground. As she came into contact with the cement, she gasped and pushed herself up. A globe of light spilled from her body, unknowingly, touching Kishu's pale and limp hand and disappearing.

"You little..." breathing heavily, her shoulders shook as she raised her head to glare at them. There was no longer mirth in her eyes, and she once more crossed her arms over her chest, glowering. And there was that power again. In perfect Demoness form, Chimera Ari let out a cry as the air glared and raged about her, an electrical field flickering around her, brimming with energy and power. Holding her palms out, her anger grew, and with it the field seemed to swell, expanding dangerously.

"N-no way!" Berii gripped her wand.

Ichigo's eyes widened. "It's... it's going to go off like a bomb!" She breathed, feeling her knuckles tighten around her Bell. Just as she said, the field seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, the power within growing stronger and stronger, electricity running through the walls like sparks and flame. And Ari was in the center, channelling all of her rage into energy.

"Ribbon ---" Ichigo and Berii spun around to see Roxi and Yumi up on their feet, holding their weapons. Roxi still had tears in her eyes, and Yumi's jaw was clenched like she was in great pain.

"Raspberry _Dazzle_!"

"Cherry_ Burst_!"

Both lights burst out and hit the field, but only disappeared, absorbed into it as more energy. Ari's eyes flickered. Ichigo fell to her knees.

Attacks wouldn't work. It was growing too fast, and there was no where to run, no way to protect the blow. Ari had complete control, the whole situation neatly in the palm of her hand.

"You're ---" Swinging her hands up towards the sky, Chimera Ari allowed power to envelope her in shadowy light, and she clapped her palms together, the center of all energy gathered there and ready to burst. **_"--- finished_**!"

There was light. But it was promptly halted as a pale hand shot out, broke through the barrier, and grasped Ari by the ankle.

"**_Stop, Ari_**!"

It seemed like a spell suddenly broke. Her clawed hands, which had been clasped, seperated instantly from a surprise no other voice could have caused her, the attack fading from view in an instant. Before anyone could process what had just happened, Ari's eyes widened and she whipped around to see Kishu there, clutching at her leg and breathing heavily. The life had somehow returned to his eyes after a fragment of his force had spilled from Ari's body, and he looked up at her now, almost pleadingly. The barrier faded and Ari's feet came into contact with the ground.

"K-Kishu-sama..." shocked, she stared, expression nearly blank again, "...you... know my name?"

Something like a chuckle escaped his throat, and his grip eased, if only slightly. "How could I not?... Even back at our home, our planet, you caused trouble. Making big scenes out of everything, always trying to break the rules... You even tried to get Deep Blue-sama to bring you on that first mission, but he said you were too...weak..." Breathing heavily, Kishu doubled over coughing.

Her shoulders drooping slightly, Ari turned to fully face him, bewildered. At the same time, light spilled from her body again, taking her Demoness Chimera features away as the forces were returned to Marzipan and Hanajima, as well as Kishu, who gained the strength to push himself up.

And everyone else, who had been in a state of paralyzed fear at Ari's ultimate attack, watched in melting surprise. One minute, their lives had been on the very brink of being destroyed, and now... all of a sudden there was no threat in Ari's eyes. Anger, yes, but no longer the threat that they had seen just moments before, her Demoness, her hatred. It was all gone.

At first, Ari was speechless. But it didn't seem to matter - as he climbed to his feet, he looked her straight in the eye, frowning.

"Why did you come here, Ari?" He said softly, "Why are you so bent on hurting Ichigo and the others?"

Anger seemed to etch itself on her face again, and she looked to the side. "_She_," Ari snarled, "caused yours and Pai-sama and Taruto-chan's mission to be a failure. It's all her fault, that we don't have this planet... it's her fault! All because _that witch _--"

Kishu interupted, looking surprised. "'_Witch_'? You mean koneko-chan?" Seemingly finding this amusing, he grinned briefly, his shoulders shaking slightly in short laughter, "Ari, Ichigo's no witch. Neither are the others. They're just defending their _own_ planet, just like we want to defend _ours. _And you and Hanajima and Marzipan _threatened _that," On that thought, he glanced over to see the two aliens in question had managed to draw to consciousness as well, pushing themselves from the ground.

Ari gritted her teeth. "But this was our planet," it was clear enough, to Ichigo and the others as they watched, that that was not really her reason. Ichigo wondered, as she looked at them, if she'd been right after all. The way Ari's anger just seemed to slip from her face... it was as if -- "It was ours, Kishu-sama, and they've ruined it! And because of that, we were stuck on some desolate star, forced to live in poverty and under poor conditions! It's all _their fault_!"

"But they're the ones," he said calmly, "who allowed us to take the Mew Aqua to restore our own home, Ari. Without them, we'd have only destroyed everything and been back to square one."

Her golden eyes widened and drifted to the ground, and her anger seemed to deepen. Kishu noticed, but didn't wince or seem fazed at all. He waited for her to speak, for her to argue further. Kishu knew where he stood. If she tried to attack these girls, he would defend them with his life.

"But..." Ari put a hand to her face, exasperated. Hanajima and Marzipan watched from the side silently, their wounds still recovering as they kept eachother upright. Ichigo and the others watched, ready to attack, ready to fight against Ari if she snapped again. But, to their surprise, she stayed calm. Her head hung and she shut her eyes.

"That means, then... that you were _really _in love with her? With Ichigo?"

"...Eh?" Kishu blinked, not having expected that. Then, after a period of silence, his face softened, and he nodded, slowly.

"Yes."

"..." Ichigo blinked. The others blinked. And then they turned towards her. "_Ehhhh_?"

"W-_what_?" Ichigo took a step back, her face burning. Pudding was up in her face almost right away, though she had a slight limp from Ari's attack.

"Ichigo-oneechan, you never told me about your secret affair with Kishu-onii-chan! Aoyama-onii-chan's not going to be very happy, na no da!"

"P-Pudding, it's not like that!" Waving her hands around frantically, she looked from Kishu to the suspicious girls, back to Kishu, and back to the girls again. "It's not... I really... I don't --"

Kishu smiled, and shook his head. "I know." He turned back to Ari, "All that matters to me is that Ichigo is happy, and can smile like she always has. As long as she has that happiness... I don't care _who _she loves."

"Kishu..." Ichigo stopped, and lowered her hands quietly. Ari seemed a bit surprised, but still reluctant at the same time.

To her shock, Kishu grabbed her hand. "Come on," he said, tugging her in a different direction, "There's really no need to be fighting, Ari. We can go back now. Back home."

Ari hesitated, not moving from where she stood. And Ichigo saw that look in the alien's eyes. Not that inhuman, murderous one she'd been seeing so much in the previous fight. A different one. The real reason she'd come here, the real reason she hated Ichigo so much, the reason she looked at Kishu without hate or horrid intentions.

Ichigo felt a tiny smile ease onto her own face.

_I was right._

"Alright," Ari nodded, and smiled, looking up at him quietly, "Let's go home. Kishu-sama."

Kishu turned to smile at Ichigo before they walked off, followed by Marzipan and Hanajima. The girls all watched them in silence, faint smiles on their faces.

Turning away for a moment, Ichigo walked over to where Kikyo, Kona, Brooke and Shinta all laid, helping them up. "Are you guys gonna be all right?"

"Yeah," a hand pressed to her forehead, Kona managed a smile as she helped Shinta up to his feet, "We're all... fine."

There were other things to worry about. But for now, they just watched them walking away, basking in that soon-fading feeling of peace.

"Thank goodness..." a tear slid down Lettuce's cheek and she sighed, a small smile on her face, "Shirogane-san... your sacrifice wasn't in vain."

"A happy ending for the aliens again, na no da!" Pudding chimed cheerfully. Ichigo nodded, slowly, watching as they went, supporting Kona by the shoulder.

"Yeah..."

But then, Marzipan halted in her step. Before they'd even fully noticed, she fell to her knees, clutching at her throat, gasping for air with a strained look on her face.

Hanajima spun around. "Marzipan?" But just as quickly, that look overtook her too, and she doubled over, her head hitting the ground. Kishu and Ari stared in horror.

"What's going on?" Ichigo cried in fear, taking a step forward. At that moment, both the standing aliens collapsed as well, paling in pain. "_Kishu?"_

Suddenly, the life began to draw from them again, in a liquidy, floating state, the energy force being pulled from their mouths, leaving their bodies limp and unmoving behind. They let out a final cry as their energy was yanked clean from them, gathering high up in the air, swirling together and combining. Ari's hand hit the ground as her body was left a shell, her own bright force joining the other two in the air.

Kishu lay shaking against the sidewalk, hand clasping his throat, body tense as he tried to fight off some invisible force.

"Kishu!" Ichigo and the others started rushing over, with frightened looks on their faces. Kishu's yellow eyes widened and he fell unmoving against the ground as the life slowly began to draw itself out from him, leaving with force.

"This is why..." Squeezing his eyes shut in pain, Kishu's back suddenly arched and he groaned, letting out one last breath, "...you don't try to cheat... with Fusion..."

And then he was silent as his own power joined the rest in one growing ball in the sky, all merging together. In a sudden gain of power, it burst into light, forcing Ichigo and the others to shield their eyes from the brightness.

"What is _happening_?" Berii cried in despair as the power whipped all around them, and as it finally began to dim, not one of them could answer. Because no one with their souls still in tact knew what was happening.

Not until the light faded, and they saw the horror faced before them.

-

_Next Chapter:_

_The battle to end all battles has begun. With Kishu and the others out of the picture, will the Mews be able to take the fight on their own? Or will they lose more than they already have? Bonds are put to the ultimate test in this epic chapter as the final face-off takes place!   
_


	26. Beginning to End

**xuri:** Oh. Wow. Holy cow guys. o-O This is... the last chapter. Mmhm. Finale. Kaput. No more.

Wow. This is a lot more depressing than the first time I finished the series. xD To all the readers - thanks so much for the support. You made... editting these chapters so much fun and spending all the time writing them totally worth it. x3

Thanks everybody! More at the end. ;3

SamKo: Ha, yeah, talk about the circle of life going on there. xD I think the last chapter was my favourite. There was a lotttt going on. o-o Which was why it was so SUPER DUPER AWESOME, haha. Hopefully this finale lives up to all your guys' expectations. ;3

**--**

**Blend (chapter twenty-six)**

**:FINALE:**

**..beginning to end..**

It was all over.

There was nothing to save. No chance to cling to. They didn't even have to think about it to know that, to realize the inevitable end that would befall them all within minutes.

Four bodies littered the ground already; four motionless, still, and empty bodies lay limp against the grounds, unmoving beneath the dark and foreboding sky. There were four bodies, but they were sure there would be more, many more.

Because as that light faded, there stood a giant, monsterous creature, towering high above them, staring with malicious eyes, heartless eyes, eyes that seemed to invoke a very air of _death_.

It resembled the size of a Chimera Anima, with its ferocity as well; but the main difference being its height was nearly_ doubled_, and power saturated the air all around it, just as it had to Ari, and the ground seemed to rumble beneath without it even having to step.

Ichigo had thought there could have never been anything more terrifying than the state Chimera Ari had been in, her Perfect Demoness form, her peak of power. But compared to this, she wasn't even close. Blending and fusing were different than being the _real thing_. And this was the true creature, the true demon - _the true Chimera_.

It stood, high above them, head reared into the air. The thing seemed to most strongly resemble a Chimera of legend, with the head of a lion, body of a and tail of a serpent-like dragon, and legs and hooves of a goat. Other parts graced it; a pair of wide spanning wings,a mix of leathery and dark feathers, the tips jagged and sharp. The goat's hooves seemed to crash against the ground with every breath the creature took, and its serpent tail slammed against everything in sight.

"What are we..." Ichigo felt pale, cold, the blood in her veins seeming to freeze. "...supposed to do?"

Even Zakuro and Brooke appeared as afraid as the others. At first, they could only stare in horror, waiting for something horrible to befall them. It was as if they were under a powerful spell, bound into watching the creature let out a roar that induced terror and near loss of consciousness. The question Ichigo had voiced so slowly and shakily was racing through all of their minds at that moment -

_**What are we going to do?**_

And then, Kona jumped overhead, holding her bell, aiming it for the hazardous creature. Tears were shining in her eyes as she soared, almost in slow motion, and gravity seemed to take over just quickly enough, pulling her back towards the ground as she came right toward the Chimera.

"Kona?"

"_Kona-chan_!"

"This is," water spilled from her eyes as she clasped her Blossom Bell Bell, light shining from the center, "for Ryou! _Ribbon Blossom Shine_!"

A light brighter than any of her previous attacks burst forward, hitting the Chimera head on, enveloping it in bright pink light. And as Kona descended quickly, she was ready to catch her breath and aim for another attack. She wasn't letting this thing live.

Only, she didn't have the chance to move again.

Through the light, unfazed, came a giant claw that had morphed out of a hoof, still bearing the strength and solid nature but with more flexibility. It swatted Kona from the air with a cry, and she collided with the ground hard, tumbling uncontrollably until she crashed against the fence with a sickening_ thump_.

"R-ryou..." She whispered, her breath shaking as she reared back to try and block out the pain.

"_Kona_!" Her action, and the consequence, seemed to snap every last one of them out of their dazed fear. They whirled around to face the Chimera head on, ready to attack while Shinta hurried over to help the fallen girl.

"We can't give up!" Brooke said in a commanding voice, and the others nodded. The Chimera had broken into a frenzy from Kona's seemingly harmless attack, and was now storming towards them, the earth shaking beneath them at an alarming rate.

"Right! Let's go!" Ichigo cried, and just as the creature was prepared to take a swipe at them, they all jumped high into the air.

"Ribbon Zakuro _Pure_!" Twisting her body, Zakuro unleashed the power of her Crosswhip against the monster, and as it slashed against the body of the giant, Yumi acted in prompt follow up by swinging her Raspberry Bell.

"Ribbon Raspberry_ Dazzle_!"

But even the light combined did not seemed to scathe the Chimera, as in response it simply took two giant steps back, reared its head, and summoned forth a great spiral of fire.

"Watch out!" Zakuro screamed, diving for Yumi and pushing her out of the way. The mere heat of the air surrounding the attack forced the girls to retreat as well, landing back on the ground expertly to form another way of attack.

Brooke managed to stay airborne longer than the others with her wing, and pulled her sword out as the animal was occupied, twisting it in her grip and angling it so it pointed straight for the exposed body. "Mitsukai..._Ken_!" With a cry, the sword was engulfed in flaring darkness as she plunged it into the creature's shoulder, beating her wing so it propelled her forward, dragging her blade through swiftly to form a huge cut from which darkness poured. But the Chimera only cried out in anger, and, with a swish of its tale, heavily damaged Brooke so she began to plummet towards the ground.

"_Kyaaaaahhh_!" Which in itself would have done enough damage. But before she could even attempt to catch herself or soften the fall, Chimera's tail changed direction, lifted into the air, and slammed down against the descending Brooke, crashing her into the hard ground and crushing her body beneath the pressure.

"Kona... _Kona_, are you alright?"

After being shaken by the shoulders, Kona's eyes opened slowly, and she winced from the sudden pain. "Sh-Shinta..." She whispered, barely able to make her voice audible at all, "...I'm... sorry..."

"No, Kona, you didn't do this. We all have to fight back, and --"

"No," her voice was raspy, as she tried to help herself up. Shinta had to grip her arm to keep her from falling. "That's... that's not what I meant... after seeing Ari and Kishu, after hearing them talk - " she stopped mid sentence, nearly doubled over coughing and gasping from the pain.

"Kona!" Shinta's eyes were drawn in worry as he tried to support her. Her breath shook as she tried to stay conscious, to speak, to fight again and protect all the ones she cared about.

"...I didn't see..._ I didn't see! _All I'd ever seen was --"

Shinta interupted her. "...What are you talking about, Kona?"

"Even though," seeming to calm down slightly, she coughed a few more times, before lifting her head to look up at him, almost pleadingly, "Even though you were here, all along. Shinta, I --"

A glass shattering cry erupted through the air and they both turned to the source, seeing Brooke's body pressed beneath the tail of the Chimera Creature. "Brooke!" Leaping to his feet, Shinta sprinted in the direction of the raging Chimera, leaving Kona to herself.

Taking a moment to gather her senses, Kona stood up, her knees shaking, feeling weak and bruised and beaten all over. Her head was hung as she stared at the ground, and then lifted her eyes again, to face the battle currently taking place.

"I will fight," she whispered, holding her bell against her chest tightly and protectively. Closing her eyes for a moment, Kona took a shaky step forward, then opened them again, fixing her icy gaze on the target. "_I will fight._ For those I care about," another step, and then another,

"and for those I love."

"Huaahhhhhh!"

"Brooke!" Stopping right before the creature, Shinta drew out his two swords again, charging up for an attack. Just as it had before, seven elements seemed to gather around him and his blades - wind, darkness, earth, thunder, fire, water, and light - flaring with power as he held them high above his head. "_Dageki Sono Meimei Nanatsu_!" Slashing them both at identical times, the elements were released, shooting towards the Chimera at an alarmingly fast rate, colliding and causing it to roar in fury. And though it didn't do any visible damage, it distracted the creature enough for it to instinctively lift its tail, releasing Brooke from the bind she'd been in. Berii hurried to the girl's side to help her up.

"You're still conscious?" The bunny girl exclaimed in surprised as the Dark Angel grasped her hand and pulled herself upright, wobbly on her feet but otherwise steady.

"It would hurt more if I wasn't," she said simply, voice laden with well-contained pain, and picked up her sword.

Enraged after recovering from the light, not necessarily the blow, Chimera suddenly stormed forward, heading straight for the offending swordsman. He stood his ground, gritting his teeth, holding one sword out before him and the other angled back, ready to make a quick slash if it came close enough and then a stab. Whether or not it did vital damage didn't matter at this point. It was merely _damage _that needed to be done, no matter how severe. And right now, it didn't look as if it had had to swat a fly from it's thick mane.

"Baka!" Brooke shouted, sheating her sword in order to run towards Shinta. She was too far away to get there in time, and she knew it. "What do you think you're _doing_?"

He didn't even blink. "I will protect you all," Shinta whispered, and then sprang off his toes with a cry, "I won't let this _thing_ hurt _anyone else! Huaahhhhh!"_

Matching its own strength, the Chimera also seemed to have to ability to think on short notice. Slamming its feet down to the ground, the creature halted and swung its head back for momentum, and then proceeded to pull it back down as the rest of the body was raised into the air, all colliding to the ground with one heaping crash.

"W-wah!" Roxi couldn't even stay standing; from the sudden shaking, she tumbled to the ground, and she wasn't even nearly as close as Shinta was to the epicentre. The swordsman dressed in white was off his feet in an instant, hitting the ground with a resounding crash, stunned from the hit alone. While he was incapable of fighting back, the Chimera roared and raised it's hoofed-paw, prepared to take a fatal swipe at the boy.

"Watch ---_ out_! Ribbon Mint _Echo_!" Drawing back gracefully but powerfully on her bow, Mew Mint released a flurry of blue energy and power around one arrow, which managed to strike the creature in the eye. It intercepted the intended attack, just as she'd planned, but the reactions of the Chimera were inhuman. Mint's hand had scarcely left the string of the bow when a claw swiped out of the air, sweeping the lorkeet-fused girl off the ground and into the air, resting on the palm of the creature. 'Resting' being only a temporary state, as it swiftly tightened into a death grip that enveloped her entire body, intended on crushing her bones. She cried out in glass shattering pain, her shriek filling the air as her head arched back and the lethal grip around her quickly tightened.

"_Mint_!" Zakuro cried, flinging her crosswhip out and emitting the purple thread of light again. She aimed to strike the Chimera's hand to force a muscle spasm and send Mint back to the ground. Only, it proved once again to be witty as well as powerful; the other paw flew from the air, swatting her attack clear out of range as if it were nothing. "Hang on, Mint!"

"Onee-sama!" Mint screamed again, only her voice was fading as the attack commenced, as if squeezing the very life from her body.

No matter what attacks the others used, they couldn't seem to get past the Chimera's counter attacks to help Mint. Their angles were limited; it was so alert that even when Yumi attempted to get around, it brought its tail out and she just narrowly missed a hit to the chest. Mint seemed to have gone completely limp, and they were about to jump in and put them all in intense danger when there was a streak of black overhead.

"Ribbon," Kona had jumped in from behind, where she'd fallen, aiming at the Chimera's head as she was propelled overtop. Her grip seemed weak, and shaky, but her face was set with fierce determination. The monsterous creature didn't have time to react or process the situation, even being as quick as it was, "_Blossom Shine_!"

The light that broke through, though no more harmful than any previous attempts at attacking, did create a sense of shock and spasms that Zakuro and the others had been aiming for. Chimera's grip on Mint faltered just long enough for her small body to slip through the sharp talons, descending quickly for the ground. Zakuro bounded off her wolf-strength legs and caught the near-unconscious girl before she could hit the ground.

As Kona came into contact with the bottom, though, she was still in close range of the lion-dragon-goat-serpent-monster, and as it swiftly raised its dangerous foot, she managed to roll out of the way before it crushed her beneath the Chimera's weight. It had actually caused a large, rounded dent where the foot had collided, leaving an imprint that signified Kona's life could have easily been taken if she hadn't reacted quick enough.

Scrambling to her feet, the panther girl darted over to the others, who were gathered at a distance with their weapons held outwards defensively.

"_This isn't working_," Kikyo said, her jaw tense as she held her Fox Charm out before her as means of quick defense, "Anything we throw at this thing is either deflected or taken without harm. Brooke's the only one who managed to create any visible damage, but even that hasn't slowed it down or made it's attacks any weaker _at all_!"

Ichigo chewed her lip. Kikyo was right - they all knew it. The creature was still going strong, ripping at everything it had the chance to without hesitation or even recognition of pain. The Chimera's power was so destructive, so capable of tearing everything to shreds. And she was no longer concerned just for the lives of her and the other Mews - no, once this thing took them down, the rest of Tokyo was vulnerable. Maybe even the rest of the world. They'd had enough trouble just fighting this thing off, and they had super-inhuman-powers; how were _normal people _supposed to fight back against this thing?

But there had to be some way. For herself. For her friends. For the _rest of the world_. There had to be something they could do to stop the Chimera, something to destroy it and save themselves and humanity just like they had before. Besides, now they had almost double the forces - didn't that give them some kind of advantage, some kind of power?

Then, she realized it._ Double_. "Guys!" She cried, but the Chimera bounded over before she could finish. They were quick enough, and got out of harm's way once more, their attention split between the raging Chimera and what Ichigo was saying. Holding her Bell tightly, she straightened up. Everyone was here. No one was in such bad condition that they couldn't fight, so...

"Come on! We have to work together," lowering her head, her eyes closed for a moment as she tried to hold back tears. Thinking made her remember pain, and pain made her cry. When she spoke again, her voice was low and shaky. "We've already lost Shirogane and Akasaka-san. We can't let anyone else be hurt because of these mistakes, because of this creature!"

"What do you expect us to do?" Zakuro had a bit of her usual skeptical tone, but she was open and willing, knowing well enough their options were very, very limited. "Our attacks aren't working at all. This Chimera is faster and stronger than anything we've ever faced. Our power isn't strong enough!"

"Our_ individual_," Ichigo said solemnly. Then, wiping the tears from her eyes, she went on, "Pair up."

The others stared blankly. "What?"

"We have to at least try," managing a smile, she looked at Roxi, "Roxi, remember before, when we were fighting Ari? We combined our attacks and it had a great amount of damage. If we can hit it with a constant rate of combined attacks, maybe then - "

"I get it," Berii chimed in, holding her wand tightly in her hands, "But isn't it a bit of a risk? If this doesn't work, we can't exactly..."

"What else can we do?" The cat girl whispered, tilting her head with a sad smile. Silence. Then, the others nodded.

"Right."

As the Chimera creature recovered from the brief impact of it's own failed attack, its nostrils flared and it stood upright, icy black eyes making contact with those of the girls. But they weren't afraid any more. They couldn't afford to be afraid, just like they couldn't afford for any more lives to be lost as a result of Ari's attacks. Doing as Ichigo said, they partnered up, preparing their attacks. They'd been instructed not to act until Ichigo said so. She was waiting for the prime moment, the moment when -

The Chimera's eyes narrowed, and it let out a fierce roar, preparing itself for its own counter attack.

"_Now_!"

Zakuro and Kikyo ran at the thing from opposite sides at quick speed, one with the strength of the wolf and the other of a fox. As they came in, from the right and from the left, the two girls raised their weapons, and aimed.

"Ribbon Pure _Blast_!" The light that came from their weapons twisted together into one, single power, a ball of pure white energy hurtling straight towards the Chimera. It worked. As the energy hit it square in the face it took a few steps back, the very first sign of pain they'd ever seen in the creature, and grunted. The rage seemed to have built up immensely inside the thing, and it wasn't going to hold back any more.

Roaring loudly, it became to storm forward, the ground beneath rumbling violently as it charged towards the group. Kikyo and Zakuro darted safely out of the way, and the larger group split so Chimera had a more broad and unstable target. Pudding and Yumi stood together in the center, both with their ring shaped weapons outstretched.

"Ready, na no da!" Pudding chimed, the mark on her forehead glowing brightly as she dashed forward, Yumi following suite at her own immense speed. They both moved and aimed the weapons in almost perfect synch. "Ribbon Ring Dazzle --_ Inferno_!" By smacking her Pudding Ring against the ground, Pudding created a trench with bright light, which combined itself with Yumi's dazzling energy attack and sprang forward, sealing the fast moving Chimera in a solid blob of pink pudding.

It had been in mid step, so the momentum of that alone shattered the dessert cage instantly, splintering into millions of tiny pink shards that faded into the air. The Chimera had not been frozen, by any means, but it certainly slowed it down for a few precious seconds before it regained its strength.

That was all they needed, and they weren't about to let it slip by.

Mint and Roxi were already in position, running straight for the creature from a behind advantage. Both their attacks required aim that was virtually impossible to attain from the speed the thing had previously been moving at, but now with a few precious moments of sluggish behaviour, they could zone in on the target just as they'd intended. All they needed the chance to do was disorient it, so the others could take over.

Crying out, Mint focused her energy as she ran, using her Mint Arrow to aim straight for the back of the head. Roxi did the same with their wand, and simultaneoushly they cried out, "Ribbon Echo _Burst_!"

An arrow shot forth, combining with cherry-red light. As a result, it struck the Chimera's head unknowingly, bursting into an array of light and shine. At the same time, the air seemed to ripple, cause a tear in the fabric of sound, creating immense pain for the monster as it cried out in pain, distracted long enough.

Dark Angel and Elemental Swordsman appeared infront of him, holding their blades up in the air, having gathered energy already. Brooke's flared with black, swirling power, and Shinta's with the golden shades of the elements. As seen before, getting close was dangerous; but they needed to do it in order to make an effective hit. Brooke had succeeded in this before, but it hadn't done any real damage. With their combined powers and a solid, almost unmoving target, they could easily get the hit they wanted. As long as they acted quickly.

"Mitsukai," as if the two were attached to the same puppet strings, their mouths and arms moved in perfect rehearsed unison as they arched their swords back, glaring with power and strength, "_Nanatsu_!" In one fluid movement, their blades flew downward, slicing against the legs of the Chimera in hopes of immobilizing it. It seemed to work. A roar erupted in the air and it stumbled, though they were wise enough to see the anger burning fierce in its eyes and get out of the way quickly. They'd done what they could.

Snarling, the Chimera bellowed again, and staggered, lurching forward as if to attack to the group in one final bound. The ground shook. But from the extensive damage to its front legs, it nearly crumpled, falling at an angle to the side.

Running fast - since they'd changed their formation at the last minute - Lettuce and Kona joined together, to where the Chimera was falling. Both the girls shared tear stained faces as they aimed their respective weapons, glowing with their fused powers, nearly trembling from a mix of sorrow and anger. The Chimera was falling right for them, so they had no other chances if they messed up. They'd be crushed beneath its massive body, and then it would have the advantage again if no hits were made. They _had to do this._

"This is for Ryou!" They both screamed and unleashed their attack at the body of the creature. "Ribbon... Shine _Rush!"_

Water dazzling with pink and black light burst forth, causing such force against the Chimera that its direction of descent was altered and quickened. This time, it fell to the other side, where Ichigo the Iriomote Wildcat and Berii, half rabbit half kitten, stood, smiles on their serious faces. As the Chimera hurtled towards them, they simply smiled, knowing their friends had succeeded, and were safe, and all they had to do was make sure things stayed that way.

"Let's go, Berii," Ichigo said, holding her Strawberry Bell.

"Yeah." The blond nodded, outstretching her wand. The two began to shine off an aura, which merged and twined together, connecting their power for one short and vital moment. One hit was all they had.

"Ribbon! _Double Berrrryyyy _---" taking a running leap forward, the two soared through the air, focused completely on Chimera, _"-- Check_!"

Light swallowed it completely, in an array of rainbow colours, sparkling and shining in sparks and dazzles. The two landed on the ground safely and solidly as the Chimera was lost from view, engulfed completely in the colourful light, its own roar being drowned out. And as it faded, the giant creature stood there still, panting for breath, rendered temporarily immobile. Its body looked weaker - slightly weaker - but it was still in tact. Still full of energy, full of fight and hate.

Ichigo's grip tightened and she felt her throat form into a knot. "What do we do now?" No one could answer. They just watched, helplessly, as the Chimera attempted to recover. The pink haired cat girl was trembling. "That took all we had, our strongest combined attacks... and it's only done so much damage to this thing. How much more will we have to_ take_?"

Berii's bunny ears drooped, and the others looked just as discouraged. Exhausted, too, from pushing themselves so much. Even if they did the same formation over and over again, they'd drop dead before they could even knock the Chimera out, let alone destroy it. Besides, it was not a stupid creature - even as they'd been proceeding, it had been analyzing and memorizing their procedures. They couldn't use the same tricks twice, because, put simply, _they would not work_.

Feeling as if gloom were running through her veins, Ichigo stood limp, staring with an expression mixed of fear, horror, and bewilderment. Was this it? Was this as far as they came, as far as Earth came...? "What now...?"

Having no idea what to do other than wait for the inevitable attack, they all stood still. Prepared to defend themselves, but knowing it would be futile. And then Ichigo heard a little rustle of material, a squeak, and the resounding crash of a wooden plank against cement. Turning around, she saw fuzzy little pink thing rise out of the rubble, awkwardly swaying as it got used to the air pressure.

Ichigo stared as Masha flitted over, its cotton candy pink fur covered in soot and ash and other forms of greyish dirt.

And with an urgent "Ichigo!" in the robot's programmed voice, there was a crackle, and a sudden change in pitch on the R2000's speaker.

"Ichigo..._ Ichigo, _can you hear me?"

Her eyes widened as the tiny thing approached. That wasn't the high pitched '_tweet_' of happy little Masha. It was a voice she recognized - a voice she never thought she'd hear again. Tears suddenly found themselves in her eyes as she stared in disbelief, realization spreading across her features at a normally slow rate.

"..._Shirogane_!"

She practically screamed, leaping forward and throwing her arms around the flying ball of fluff, squeezing it unbelievably tightly and rocking back and forth in joy. Ichigo could feel Masha struggling against her smothering hold, even a little '_myeh, myeh_!' from the wriggling robot heard to her cat ears. The smile would not fade from her face, even when the voice on the speaker complained.

"Please, Strawberry, don't break R2000. It was hard enough getting _him out _there, but luckily he was small enough to fit through the pipe --"

"You're alive!" Ichigo nearly squealed, holding the tiny device out in her hands, admiring it with a wide and tearful smile, "You're alive, _you're alive_, _I can't believe _you're alive! We all thought... _we all _--!"

"It's alright, Ichigo-san, try to stay calm," came a soothing voice. Ichigo's face lit up again.

"Akasaka-san! You _too_? You're both okay! _You're both alive_!" Since she began to almost dance in joy, the other girls were drawn to see what the commotion was about. Pudding and Mint seemed to have formed a theory that Ichigo had finally lost it, until they saw the pink thing in her hands and heard the distinct voices coming over the speakers.

"R-_Ryou!" _Kona cried, running forward. The others followed, crying out in happiness, spouting out words and questions one after another at the poor, pink, helpless Masha who was just working as a delivery robot.

"Keiichiro-senpai! Keiichiro-senpai, are you hurt?"

"Honestly, Shirogane, what kind of stunt were you pulling? How dumb could you be to get stuck in a burning cafe?"

"Please, Mint-san, just be glad they're alive! It's a miracle,"

"Lettuce's right. The chances of surviving a fire that seemed this big are very slim, but they somehow broke the rules."

"True, true, onee-sama!"

"Heee! Shirogane-oniichan and Akasaka-oniichan aren't hurt? Yay, na no da!"

They continued to gush and gush, a few of them crying, a few smiling, a few almost feeling comfortable enough to complain. Then Ryou was quick to interupt them.

"There are more important matters right now, everyone! Will you listen?"

"Shirogane," Ichigo suddenly said, pushing past the crowd to speak to the fuzzball again, "There was a battle with Ari, and Kishu was here, and she sapped Kishu's powers, and because of that they took control and formed this giant Chimera mons--"

There was an exasperated sigh. "Ichigo, we _already know_. We can see everything that's going on out there."

"Shirogane-san..." Lettuce said timidly, and bowed her head, fighting back tears, "...you've worked so hard, but we don't know what else to do. Our most powerful attacks combined are hardly causing any damage to the Chimera... its power is unbelieveable, and it can easily out run the rest of us. What are we supposed to do?"

There was silence, even over the speaker. Then, "How much time do you have?"

The girls looked over at the Chimera, who was pushing itself up to its feet, breathing heavily, shoulders heaving. But with every second that passed, it seemed to be getting stronger, and angrier.

"Not much," answered Kikyo, "It's still recovering from our last set of attacks, but it'll be up in another minute or so. I don't doubt that it'll have gotten back to full power again. It has all the characteristics and abilities of several sorts of combined animals, so its power is immense,"

Again, there was silence.

"There's another way to beat it," Ryou said quietly over Masha's speakers, "but you have to act fast and listen to what Keiichiro and I tell you. Understand?"

As if they had a choice.

They understood. Acting on their next orders, Ichigo and the others swiftly split up and formed a circle around the creature, and were quiet enough for it to not notice. All of them were tense, as they were dangerously close.

"You have to make it tight, bound together," Ryou had intructed, "Otherwise, it might not work. You have one shot._ Don't. Mess. Up_."

Like he had to tell them twice. After they'd confirmed getting into the circle formation, "Now get your weapons ready. Kona, how are we doing for time?"

"Not good," Kona said nervously. The Chimera had recovered almost fully, and its yellow, piercing glazed eyes were clearing up as it viewed its surroundings cautiously. She knew the thing was smart. It would only be a matter of time before it realized what was going on.

"Well, then move faster. Make sure to stay on your toes," he instructed, irritated. The others waited, but he said nothing else.

Ichigo's eye twitched. "_You too_. What are we supposed to do next?"

No reply. She pulled her gaze away from the shifting Chimera towards where Masha was floating. "Shirogane?"

Nothing. Suddenly, the others noticed too that there was no reply, and began calling out to either him or Keiichiro. There was no sound from either of them. Masha just kept floating there innocently, blinking its wide round eyes and hovering in place. Then, chirping happily, it started to spin around, "Shirogane! Shirogane!" It chanted, mimicking the cries of the girls cheerfully. Other than that, no other voices came over the speaker.

Zakuro grit her teeth. "We must've gotten disconnected..."

"Ara... That, or they're dead," Yumi suggested all too innocently.

"Yumi-san..." Lettuce didn't believe her, but her green eyes were wide with worry, nonetheless. The Chimera growled suddenly, and they stiffened.

"We'll just have to do this without him," said Brooke in a solemn voice, with a nod as she held her sword outwards. The others nodded, reluctantly.

"But..." Berii looked incredulous, her wide hazelnut eyes never leaving the sight of the gigantic Chimera, "...what can we do?"

None of them could so much as look at her - the Chimera was on edge, cautious, like a kitten ready to pounce and devour its prey. Like a spring trap just waiting to be tripped. As long as they kept quiet, maybe they could buy some time, and ---

"SHI_-RO-_GA_-_**NEEE**!" Pudding and Yumi suddenly screamed at the top of their lungs in perfect rehearsed unison. The others all jumped, alarm spreading like wildfire across their faces.

"Pudding-san!"

"_Yumi_!"

No further scolding could take place. The two small girls had made a last, if foolish, attempt at calling their leader, the blonde who hadn't given any response to their earlier calls or requests. This set off the trap, and with a resounding cry, the Chimera reared its head in anger, pulling its hoof-claws back and slamming them to the ground again to cause major repercussions.

The blood drained from Ichigo's face. _What do we do, what do we do, what do we do?_

"_Now_! Hurry!" And it was at that very moment Ryou's voice blared again, shooting more shock into the faces of the surrounding girls.

"_Ryou_?" Kona cried. Ichigo's jaw clenched.

"Why do you say something _now_? We were calling for you!"

"I was waiting for the opportune moment. Now, hurry! You don't have much time!"

He wasn't kidding. The Chimera wasn't attempting to make any head on attacks - its head was pulled back, massive jaw pulled wide open, a light emanating heat gathering in a ball. It had been like an earlier attack, where it had blown fire like a dragon, but they could see it was charging up for something _much_ stronger. There was no where to run this time. If they were going to act, they had to act fast.

So, they did as he said. All of them held out their weapons, focusing, nervousness building up inside them. This had to work. They had just _one shot_. As they waited for instructions, they weren't left hanging like they had been before. Ryou continued abruptly. He knew just how dire the situation was.

"Focus. You can't panic - you have to be able to put your trust completely in eachother. You all have to be in this, or it will fail. And remember, failure is the end_. Game over_."

Ichigo shivered, tightening her grip around her Strawberry Bell. Her pink eyes stared, unblinkingly, at the energy that gathered in the very center of the dragon-goat-lion's mouth. She could_ feel _the heat against her neck, the power was emitting so strongly. She was afraid. But Ryou was right - they _had_ to trust eachother. Whatever he intended them to do, it needed to be done right. Less than 100 power wouldn't work. To put it lightly, they were_ toast_, literally, if they couldn't pull through.

And she did trust them. Every one of them with every ounce of her soul - Shinta, Brooke, Lettuce, Mint, Yumi, Zakuro, Roxi, Kona, Pudding, Kikyo, Berii - and she knew, having fought and become friends with every last one of them, that they could pull it off. If anyone in the world could handle this situation, it would be _them_.

"Right," she whispered in response to Ryou's quick commands. The others followed suit, muttering affirmatively as well, in a soft voice but with heart and sincerity. Ichigo heard something like a sigh of relief from Ryou's speaker.

"You need to connect. Ichigo, you and the 'original' Mews have done this before - _connect your powers_. The Blend Mews will need to, too, as well as Shinta. Don't let fear break your concentration. You _have_ to do this."

She knew. Holding her Bell outstretched, the pink-haired catgirl knew they were capable of doing this. It would be difficult, but they could, and that was all there was to it. Ichigo exhaled. And she concentrated. There were so many people she needed to protect - all of her friends around her, Moe, Miwa, Masaya, Ryou, Keiichiro. And then there was the '_saving the world' _obligation. But above all, those people precious to her was what drove her forward, what drew the immense power from her very fingertips. And she felt it, glowing, warming her hands. Her tensed muscles seemed to relax. _It's okay. I'm not alone_.

And she wasn't. Kona, standing nearby, had her own Bell oustretched, thinking of all the people she held dear, all the things about the world she wanted to protect. Yumi was scared, which was fitting for her childish nature, but she felt bold, too. Courageous, as if she knew she could do this. Kikyo's hands were wrapped around her Fox Charm, thoughts filled with images of her friends and family and Koji. Power surged through Mint's arrow as she held it upright - _Ichigo, you'll pull through, won't you? You too, onee-sama. Everyone_. Lettuce had her castanets glowing with her own green aura, feeling drained, but feeling prepared and protective. There were people who needed protecting. And she would do everything in her power to protect them. Pudding thought to herself, energy swirling around Pudding Ring_, 'I'll make sure nothing happens to Heicha and the others. Yaku soku!'_

Zakuro's stance was firm, as always, but even she experienced inklings of fear. There was the Earth to protect, as well as those few she loved and cared about. Brooke and Shinta stood, side by side, with their swords held out, twisting with power. The female angel's eyes were glazed, even though emotions battled within; how could she afford to lose, with all there was at stake? Not only her own, but the others, as well. On the other hand, Shinta was just as vulnerable to looks of fear, but there was no hesitation. Power quelled within his soul. _I'll protect you. Kona, Brooke, Ryou, Ichigo... I'll protect all of you._ Roxi's energy surged through her wand, her own eyes closed as she tried to focus. Tried not to be afraid. Even though there was plenty to be afraid _of_, plenty to dread and be faced with horror. But it would turn out okay. Everyone here had amazing potential, amazing heart - nothing could go wrong.

"It's...o...k..." Berii whispered, as she tried to console her shaking. But she was in it, 100. There was nothing, _no one,_ that could keep her from protecting her friends. Tasuku, Ichigo, and all the rest. Losing was not an option.

Ichigo exhaled. And from the power that flowed from her fingertips and through the center of her Bell, she felt a new sensation. As if threads were twining themselves around her fingers, knotting so as not to be broken. String after string of thread added on, until she was connected to the sources like a wreath. She realized the sources were all the others, and the string was their power - all of them were being connected, bound together, their power flowing from one person to the other. She smiled, relaxed_. We can do this... everyone, we can do this!_

The Chimera sensed something. But it did not move, only in a slight shift as it pulled its head even farther back to summon more energy, for one final blow. It didn't matter. They had control now.

Ryou was silent, and Masha fluttered a safe distance away. He'd thought they would need more instructions, but the 12 of them had taken charge, and were progressing even better than intended. They truly were an amazing group.

_Only the best for saving the world..._

Power and energy flickered around them, in the air. It was as if the invisible thread was not only connecting each and every one of them with power, but with thought, too. They suddenly felt hazy, and yet sharper than ever. All of them seemed to close their eyes simultaneously, their breath becoming synchronized.

"Ribbon..."

The sound moved freely, perfectly, the air becoming heavier, the light playing against their eyelids becoming brighter. Sparks flew as everything seemed to be invisibly twining itself together, creating a power of unmistakable greatness. The Chimera was catching on. Its eyes widened, obviously becoming impatient, knowing the group now had something up their sleeves.

It was almost as if they could feel their feet lifting from the ground. Kona felt as if ribbons were twisting themselves around her shoulders, pulling her to hover just inches above the ground. Zakuro's long hair flowed freely, small spurts of electrical-appearing energy zapping all around her crosswhip. Everyone else was perfectly focused, perfectly in tune with their surroundings and their companions.

"Parfait..."

The Chimera was becoming alarmed. Something was going to happen, and it had to take action - fast. And it did just that. Letting out a deep rumble in its throat, it reeled back and released a burst of white-hot flame, blasting in a huge flash from its outstretched jaw, making a clean shot towards the circle of offenders. It hit the ground and stopped, as if deflected by walls, leaving Shinta and the girls completely untouched. Within seconds the flame dimished itself, revealing a very frantic Chimera. Bounding off its feet, the thing attempted to slam into them, crush them, but only came into contact with the invisible foundation of a dome that was formed all around it. It rebounded, hit the ground, and let out a shriek of fury, lashing out, swiping, kicking, head butting, to no avail. Only harmless sparks resulted from its futile efforts - it was as if the Chimera was sealed in an invisible barrier, keeping the Mews out of harms way and keeping it in target range.

Ichigo smiled, softly.

_It's working._

Suddenly, the binds became tighter, the power flowing stronger. Her heart seemed to soar with emotion, with memory, with care and compassion, filling her veins with an undescribable feeling of absolute power. Every last one of the others was experiencing the same sensation, the thread connecting them becoming solid and firm, so they were no longer a circle of inidividuals. They were not divided. They were united - they were _one._

"...**_Surprise_**!"

Everything halted, stopped, as the breath left them, now open-eyed. It was as if the entire world had come to a grinding halt, not a single thing moving, not a single breath budging. Time had frozen, and they were caught in the web, waiting for one second to pass as it dragged on for an eternity.

Ichigo had thought she had heard perfect silence before. Clearly, not - this was deafening, it was so quiet, and it seemed a single word could shatter the fragile, glass-made world. Scarcely had the words left her lips, as it had from all the others in perfect unison, than a light formed in the air, among the stillness and silence. It seemed to move slowly, but in reality, it could have been missed in a blink. It nearly was. The strawberry-girl blinked, and everything seemed to revert to normal, normal speed, normal sound, normal motion. Normal world.

The light dove down in a swift, spiralling motion, and struck the giant Chimera within a split second. They saw it recoil and throw its head back, letting out a screech as the pure multicoloured light surrounded it, engulfed it, covered it from head to toe. It seemed neverending, filling the invisible dome like a bowl and enveloping the monsterous creature completely. The volume of the cry only heightened as power burst all around.

"Ugh!" The strength of the attack burst so brightly, emitted such a powerful effect, that the group still standing in a perfect, tight and unmoving circle could barely stand their ground. They had to shield their eyes from the brightness, hardly able to make out what was before them. But they could hear it.

Glass-shattering cries filled the air as the Chimera arched back, helpless against the combined attack, its wide yellow eyes showing pain and horror as it was torn apart. The light seemed to rip it to shreds, tearing it, deterioating the form before their very eyes. And it became brighter and brighter, the screams louder and louder, until it died off, leaving only a faint echo and a faded light.

Silence fell again. Not a silence filled with horror and dread, but one of comfort, one of peace. Ichigo lowered her hand to see the sight before her - emptiness. A dying light, and emptiness. Not a single shred or sign of the Chimera was left, only dust sprinkling down in the air, the domed barrier disapeared.

Gradually, all of them caught on. Hands dropped back down to their sides as they tried to figure out whether it was just another trick. They stared. Then, they looked at Ichigo. She opened her mouth but had to stop, having to bend her head to catch her breath. She hadn't realized how much those short five seconds had taken out of her.

Then, looking at the others, she smiled. "It's over."

From the place where the Chimera had fallen and been destroyed rose four balls of light, gently hovering over to the collapsed bodies of the aliens, settling back into their bodies to return colour and life to them. Ichigo and the others detransformed, and stood there, watching.

Kishu was the first to stand to his feet. Looking at his hands with hollow gold eyes, he turned to look at Ichigo. Ichigo looked back. For several moments, they were silent, and then he grinned.

"Looks like you saved me again, koneko-chan."

"Kishu-sama..." Ari stood beside him, paler than ever, but with a strangely softer gaze. Marzipan and Hanajima followed soon after, the four standing together, looking at eachother almost in bewilderment. Hanajima, particularily, wore a look that said '_how are we alive?'._

"Ichigo-neko." Ichigo gave a start as Ari addressed her, staring blankly with golden eyes. She felt the hairs on her neck stand on end, and for a moment there was silence.

But those same golden eyes weren't filled with hate anymore. Some emotions Ichigo recognized, some she didn't. Some had been there all along, just veiled beneath thick misunderstanding. This was Ari standing before her. But somehow, Ichigo felt as if it wasn't the same Ari she'd had to fight and force herself to hate hours ago.

Then the blue haired alien smiled. "Thank you."

Ichigo and several others blinked in surprise. Even Hanajima and Marzipan. Before anything else could be said, Kishu sighed in frustration and grabbed Ari by the wrist, turning around. "C'mon, you three. Let's go home." Flashing a playful grin at Ichigo, he raised an eyebrow at them, "I'd say we've caused enough trouble here, right?"

Ari grinned, golden eyes flashing. "Right."

With that, they turned to look at the Mew girls before the air began to ripple, their forms gradually fading away from sight. And just as they left behind only a faint imprint to be swept away by the wind, Ichigo heard the voice of a female echo in the air.

"Bye bye, Ichigo-neko."

They, the 12 of them all together, stood there for a long time. Finally, Ichigo bent her head over, exhaled, and grinned, bringing her hands out and beckoning Masha over to sit in them. She looked at the little furball with the brightest look she'd had in a long, long time.

"Well. I'd say it's time for things to start fixing themselves, huh, Masha?"

--

"Huahhh!" Ichigo stretched her arms over her head happily, patting the skirt of her new cafe uniform before twirling around happily. "I adooore this new outfit! Kona, your's is cute too. Everyone's is. The customers are gonna _love_ these things!"

Kona laughed nervously, though she had to admit, Ryou had outdone himself. Eleven new cafe uniforms for eleven girls, and a special serving outfit for one boy. "You think so?" Glancing out one of the glass paned windows, she smiled fondly at the sun shining outside, "I'm glad things are back to normal."

It had only been 3 weeks, but in that time, a new cafe had been built. Right after the aliens left, Ichigo and the others hurried to find help, and Ryou and Keiichiro were brought out from the rubble of the building safely. Though they expected the construction of the new Cafe Mew Mew to take months, people all around the city pitched in; it had been a more popular place than they'd thought. But within twenty-one days, it was finished, looking bigger and brighter than ever. And pinker.

"Heee! More space for Pudding's tricks, na no da! Come see the amazing show, na no da!" The short blonde piped cheerfully, twirling around the room while balancing plates on sticks. Yumi followed after cheerfully, ready to catch them, if they fell, and Lettuce was hurrying around frantically to prevent any messes.

Zakuro sighed, appearing by Kona. "I'd say so. It's been unusually calm these past few days, though." Her lips curled into a soft smile. "I kind of missed all the excitement."

"Don't worry, onee-sama, it won't last long," Mint said haughtily with a nod, her arms folded over her chest. She jabbed her thumb in the happy catgirl's direction. "After all, with the world in the hands of this airhead, it's bound to be under attack again in no time."

"Yeah, well - hey! What's_ that _supposed to mean?" Mint just sniggered in response to the redhead's outburst, flouncing off to retrieve her teacups.

"Keep it down, Ichigo-chan," Roxi scolded, two platters in hand holding cakes and assortments. Ichigo saw them and beamed, little hearts appearing in her eyes. But when she reached out for one, the panda-girl quickly stepped aside and shook her head, laughing. "Nope, sorry, Keiichiro-sempai made these for the _customers_. Besides, Ryou-kun told me not to give you any, anyways. He says you're putting on weight."

The brunette hurried off after seeing the look on Ichigo's face, quickly occupying herself with a customer. Amber eyes twitched in aggrivation.

"Oi," smacking a hand to her forehead, Kikyo meandered past towards a table where a dark haired boy sat, "Better plug your ears, Koji-kun. I nearly went deaf last time."

Berii sweatdropped as she ran across the room, a third plate balanced awkwardly on her shoulder as she clumsily attempted to make three drop-offs of desserts at once.

At that moment, Brooke and Shinta emerged from the kitchen, both dressed in their cafe wear. Brooke's uniform was dark brown with black lace and ribbons, her hair having been tied by Kikyo into a pair of neat pigtails. She looked annoyed. There was no wing on her back.

Shinta patted her on the back teasingly. "Heh. I barely recognize you anymore, you know, Dark Angel."

The girl rolled her eyes and chose not to respond. She started heading off to the kitchen, but after seeing Ichigo's stance and expression, obviously changed her mind. Instead, she went for the door. Shinta laughed and stopped over by Kona, putting his hands over her ears.

"Mmph." Her hand dragged down her face as she seriously considered making a run for it. "Thanks. You really should worry about yourself, though."

"I'm not the one who has the hearing of a feline, remember?"

Breath. Twitch. Shake. Redden. Clench. Inhale.

Ichigo screamed. "**_SHIRO_GA_N__EEEEEE_**!"

Back in the kitchen, Ryou winced. Rubbing his temple with one hand, he sighed, and tossed the rag aside, muttering as he walked towards the doorway. "Does she really have to be so _loud_? She's going to scare the customers..."

Keiichiro chuckled, placing a whipped topping on one of the ordered cakes. "Everyone's just excited for the 'grand re-opening of Cafe Mew Mew'. And this time, there's no _'saving the world'_ strings attached."

Ryou rolled his eyes, leaning back against the wall. Ignoring all of Ichigo's screams and insults towards him through the wall, too. "For now. Who knows when some messed up aliens decide to go on a venge-hunt again and threaten the peace of Earth and humanity as we know it."

Shaking his head, Keiichiro smiled, setting an empty plate into the sink before drying his hands. "Well, until then," brushing a strand of brown hair from his face, he nodded and went to recieve the next order, "everything will be at peace. Let them enjoy it, while it lasts. Our super-ladies need some rest."

"Yeah," he agreed after a period of silence, glancing wistfully at the doorway. Suddenly, a frown crossed his face. "There's just one problem - "

"Grrr, he's not even _listening_ is he? That's it! Shirogane, I'm coming over there _right now_! You'd better find a good hiding place, 'cause you're _dead_!"

"Ichigo-chan, I'd watch out if I were yo - "

"Kyah!"

"Gangway, Ichigo-oneechan! Pudding's on a roll, na no da!"

"Pudding roll, pu-dd-ing roll, ara!"

"Yumi-san! The floor!"

"Eeeek!"

Thud. "Ow ow ow! _What was that?"_

"Uh oh."

"Brooke's scaring me!"

"She doesn't usually get this angry..."

"That's it! Outta my way! Move it, Kikyo!"

"Just hold on a - will you stop shoving? I'm gonna -"

"Uwah, uwah, uwah!"

"Duck, onee-sama!"

"..."

"Don't worry, Lettuce! I got ya!"

"Wah... arigatou, Berii-san."

"No problem. Just don't drop those plates."

"Pudding roll, Pudding roll, Pudding roll na no da!"

"_Pudding!"_

**Crash.**

Ryou's eye twitched.

"What are we supposed to do with **_all these Mews_**?"

**end**

**xuri:** Eeeee! x-x That's it? THAT'S IT? xDDD Gahhh, I feel all sad inside now. xD But it was great. Especially when my Ryou-kun came back to life. Swoon. I'm sure you all know I couldn't bear to kill him. xD But, yeah, this was so much fun to go through! And even if it is a bit cheesy, and sorta kinda open ended, I still love the ending, okay? xD It made me smile. And also, I just had to have RYOU throw in the last line, because Ryou's my bishie. xD It's a fangirl thing.

But, a huuuge thanks to everyone. I said this already, but you guys reading and reviewing this totally made it possible for all these chapters and characters to be brought to life. I would have quit long ago without you. You have no idea how much I appreciate every ounce of feedback, every little comment, and even just the little count of page views I can find on my profile. It means SO much to me. ;3 So THANKS YOU GUYS!

And now I'm going to talk about future projects. xD My next fanfic, which is almost done the planning process, is 'Program Lovely', which is a TMM fanfic again, though it's centered around the Ryou x Ichigo pairing. But don't worry, there will be a plot, too. xD I'd love to see some of you guys review when it's up, but it'll definitely be a while. And then, after that, I'm gonna shift away from the series for a while to do a Princess Tutu (squee) fic, but I'll be back to write my TMM Alternate Universe fic, 'Tokyo Mew Squad', so don't worry, I'll be back. xD

But, anyways, this is bye for Blend! If anyone wants to see a mini 'Petite Blend Mew' kind of chapter, or even an in-depth-character sheet, please let me know. I'm not quite ready to give up these characters yet. ;3

**Bye-bye guys!**


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